


Thrilling ☆ Sunshine

by StellaProcella



Category: Love Live! School Idol Festival (Video Game), Love Live! School Idol Project, Love Live! Sunshine!!
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alchemy, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Real World, Angels, Angst, Backstory, Battle Scenes, Character Arcs, Character Development, Childhood Memories, Demons, Developing Friendships, Drama, Elemental Magic, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Feelings, Magic, Modern Royalty, Mystery, PDP Cameos, Parallel Universes, Story Arc, Weekly Updates, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-27
Updated: 2018-10-29
Packaged: 2018-11-19 22:19:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 58
Words: 257,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11322864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StellaProcella/pseuds/StellaProcella
Summary: Love Live! Sunshine!! Fantasy!AUIn a world that was already once saved, a young girl discovers a book that will let her take the first step towards reaching her dreams. Unknown to her and everyone around her, a miraculous meeting will throw them into a series of events that will lead them towards the truth of the world itself.“We want to shine.”





	1. The Sunshine Girl

_My overflowing feelings cannot be stopped. This messy wish cannot be stopped. Spreading it across the world is our ambition. I want to feel that I’m alive. We want to shine._

☆

There was a time the world as we know it nearly reached its end. Life and nature continued to deteriorate at an alarming rate. The claws of an unknown and vast evil were tearing apart the land itself. And yet, the moment humanity was ready to give up, a group of legendary heroes appeared. It was said that the group consisted of nine legendary maidens going by the name of µ's. They fought bravely until the very end, restoring life to the land, and driving away the evil that haunted this world.

“This why I’m telling you! µ's is amazing!!” 

A young girl fell back on her bed as she held an old book tightly between her arms. The girl with short orange hair smiled with joy as she hugged the book with all her affection. 

“Chika, isn’t this the seventh time you tell me this story?” 

In turn, her friend stared at her with a bored expression as she rested her chin on the palm of her hand.

The two of them were inside a small and cozy room. Chika was lying down on top of a small bed with the plush of a large lobster just next to her, while her friend was sitting across her on an old wooden chair. 

“Maybe! Does it really matter? It’s just amazing! They saved the world! Do you know how cool that sounds Kanan? They saved the entire world!” 

“Right, right.” Kanan yawned and stood up. “Either way it’s about time I go help with the shop so I should get going.”

“Aw, already? Oh! That’s right!”

“Hm?”

“Take this with you!” 

Chika reached under her pillow, pulling out a small mandarin orange and promptly handing it over to Kanan. 

“…”

The tall girl with a curvy body and blue hair stared at the fruit now in her hand for a few seconds before speaking. 

“I have so many questions I don’t know where to start.”

“It’s for good luck!”

“I… okay. Yes, I’ll just accept it.”

“Hehehe, take good care of it! I’ll pass by the shop later!”

The orange haired girl waved at Kanan through the window as she walked away from her house. The tall girl’s long ponytail swayed from side to side with every step. She continued walking away until her figure disappeared in the distance. 

It was just another cloudy afternoon in the small seaside town of Uchiura. 

The young orange haired girl now walked across the sand, next to the vast and clear sea where the clouds beautifully reflected. She wore a white blouse under blue overalls and had a yellow ribbon attached to a short, single braid on her hair. A cool breeze caressed her skin as she continued to walk without a worry in the world. 

-Pop-

She could barely hear a faint noise, and immediately after, she felt something gently tapping her shoulder.

“?”

She turned around but all her eyes met with were the sand with her footprints and a seagull that flew by. Deciding not to give it much attention, she turned around to continue onwards. 

“Waahh?!” 

She yelled in surprise as her eyes met with a large bubble, almost the same size as her own head. The bubble had come out of nowhere and it was about to reach her face.

-Pop!-

The bubble burst on her face, mildly splashing her with water, and making Chika fall back into the sand in surprise. 

“Hahah! Chika, you always fall for that!”

The culprit laughed cheerfully. 

It was a girl that looked to be the same age as her. She had short, and wavy gray hair that fell behind her shoulders. Unlike Chika, she dressed casually with a light blue shirt, blue pants and a white cap with the name “You” written on it. 

“Here,” You extended out her arm at Chika to help her get up. “You okay?”

“It’s not fair!” Chika pouted as she glared towards the girl’s clear blue eyes. “You keep showing off your water magic!”

“Hehe, it’s no big deal. Besides,” You clapped her hands together, and then pulled them apart making several small bubbles fly up into the air from the spot where her hands met. “This is about as much as I can do.”

Chika stopped for a moment, trying to imitate her. She clapped her hands together and frowned as she tried to focus, but the moment she pulled her hands away, nothing happened. 

“It’s no useeeee!!” Chika sighed in defeat. “I can’t get it to work at all! Everyone in µ's could use a lot of cool magic!”

“Don’t worry, don’t worry!” You walked closer and gave Chika a pat on the back. “You’ll get there soon! Or… do you want to quit?”

“Of course not! I’ll manage to do it for sure!”

“Then you’ll manage just fine! Captain You assures it!” She gave Chika a smile followed by an approving nod. 

“I will! You bet I will!” Chika nodded back as her positive energy returned to her. 

“Anyway, what are you up to Chika? Going to Kanan’s place?”

“Yup! I have to bring her a few things from mom.” Chika raised up her left hand, showing You the white plastic bag she carried. “Want to come over?”

“Sure!”

Kanan’s diving shop was located just north from Uchiura, at a small island that could not be reached by land. 

Chika and You both sat on the back of a small boat that would take them to their destination. 

“The water looks so good to go for a swim right now!”

You leaned in closer to the vast sea around them, and extended out an arm to try and touch the water. 

“Come to think of it, can’t you just swim to Kanan’s place if you wanted to?”

“I can but…” You’s voice trailed off into a nervous laugh. “She scolded me last time I tried.”

“That sounds like her, yup.” Chika nodded, and then changed the subject after going through the items inside the bag she carried. “By the way! I brought this with me!”

“Is it the story book again?”

“Yup! Look! Aren’t they great? Don’t they look amazing?!”

She extended her arms while holding the book wide open for You to see. 

It showed a colored illustration that extended between two pages. Nine girls were pictured in it, all wearing radiant golden dresses with the setting sun at their backs. Somehow, this image almost gave off the feeling of looking at something sacred and beyond this world. 

“They do look great! But Chika, I’ve been wondering for some time now, where exactly did you get this book from?”

“Hm? I kind of found it!”

“You… found it?”

“Yep!”

“Do you think it’s real? This entire story about them I mean.”

“What are you talking about You? Of course it is!! Look at this!!” Chika walked closer, almost shoving the illustration on You’s face. “How can you have any doubts?!”

“Don’t worry!” You smiled nervously and then stared at Chika with a confident smile. “If you think it’s real then I’ll believe it is too!”

Chika smiled at You’s reassurance, and a few minutes later, they arrived at the shore closest to Kanan’s diving shop.

The tall ponytail girl wore a blue diving suit as she walked outside a wooden cottage rearranging some big oxygen tanks. Even if they seemed to be very heavy, she lifted them up with little effort.

Taking a better look at the area, there were a few plastic tables, chairs, as well as more oxygen tanks located on a ground level balcony just a few steps up a small wooden stairway. 

Chika and You sat on the ground, just below the balcony looking at Kanan who had not noticed them yet. 

(“I don’t think she’s seen us yet, this is perfect. You, do it!”)

(“W-Wait Chika! I don’t think it’s a good idea! Remember what happened last time?”)

The two whispered to each other making sure Kanan wouldn’t hear them.

(“It’s okay! I’ll take responsibility!” )

(“Fine, but this is all on you Chika!”)

Waiting for the moment Kanan turned her back on them, You gently clapped her hands, making a large bubble float up towards Kanan’s direction. 

The moment Kanan turned around again, the bubble exploded in her face, making her jump up startled as she let out a cute squeal. 

Being unable to contain themselves, Chika and You both broke down in laughter, but it would be short lived. 

“Any last words?”

Kanan’s piercing gaze stared at them as she jumped down from the balcony. The tall ponytail girl extended out her arm, and pointed the palm of her hand at them. 

“W-Wait! Ahaha… Wait Kanan!” 

You waved her hands in the air as she tried to explain, but she had trouble regaining her composure even in the face of danger.

“It was all You’s idea!” 

Chika quickly hid behind the short haired girl’s back. 

“T-That’s not-!” 

But she was not allowed to finish her sentence. 

In an instant, a large torrent of water shot from Kanan’s hand completely soaking both girls. 

“Now we are even~” Kanan smirked as she dust off her hands. 

“Not fair! You are wearing a diving suit so it doesn’t matter if you get wet! And—ah! The book!!” Chika panicked. 

She rapidly checked the plastic bag and pulled out the book, only to sigh in relief once she realized it was still miraculously dry. 

The two drenched girls were now sitting on the plastic chairs as Kanan brought them towels to dry themselves with. 

“Hm? And what is this?” Kanan asked as she opened the plastic bag which was now atop the table. “More mandarin oranges?”

“If you don’t like them, complain to my mom!” Chika pouted as she wrapped herself with the towel. 

“What about the one from earlier?”

“That one is for good luck!”

“She gave me a good luck one yesterday too!” You smiled proudly. 

“Huh, is that so? Hold on for a bit.” 

Kanan picked up the bag with mandarin oranges, and walked into the cottage.

“But still, Kanan’s magic is something else.”

“It is,” Chika rested her head on the chair and looked up into the cloudy skies. “I wonder if this is how µ's magic looked like.”

“According to your book, not all of them used magic remember?” 

Kanan who had already returned, jumped into the conversation, and handed over Chika a new plastic bag.

“More dried fish?!”

“You can complain to my mom if you don’t like it.”

“Hmph.” Chika pouted and then returned to the previous topic. “Besides maybe not all of them did, but their leader Honoka knew all kinds of magic! That sounds so amazing!!”

“Sure sure, then you just need to keep practicing.” Kanan then scratched her cheek and whispered under her breath. (“Not that I practice at all though.”)

“Besides Chika,” You added her opinion. “Kanan and I only know water magic, and the only one in your book that used that was… Uma? Emi? Um…”

“Umi!” Chika corrected her. “Her name was Umi!”

“Oh, right! I have a hard time remembering all their names.”

“You has a point though,” Kanan nodded. “That means you still have a lot of possibilities Chika. Maybe it’s just a matter of time!”

“I hope so.” The orange haired girl lied her head down over the table as her enthusiasm deflated.

“Or do you want to quit?” You poked Chika’s cheeks.

“I’m not quitting!!” 

You and Kanan looked at each other and smiled. Both were well aware that this is how she would react.

“Anyway, you should get going back home. It’s getting late, and you are going to catch a cold. I have to help at the shop for a little longer, so I’ll see you tomorrow!”

Kanan gave both of them a pat in the back and smiled. There was something about Kanan that always made them feel safe and reassured just by being around her. 

The tall ponytail girl waved as the other two girls left using the same boat they used to get there in the first place. 

Once they had reached the shore once more, Chika and You waved goodbye and walked off in separate directions. 

The sun began to set and the sky was covered with a nostalgic red shade. 

Chika walked back home through a road decorated with tropical tall trees and looked up at the sky. 

“I still have a lot of possibilities, huh?”

She closed her eyes for a moment and focused on feeling the cold breeze that ran by.

“I’m not sure of what I really want to do though.”

She sighed and continued to walk. 

In that moment, instead of a small breeze, an intense gust of wind blew around the area. It was strong enough to make Chika lose her balance, and more importantly, strong enough to send the plastic bag in her hand flying across the air. 

The bag flew up high into the skies, dropping some of the dried fish into the floor, and dropping the book along the way.

“Wait!!” Chika yelled as she ran in the direction where the book flew. 

To her misfortune, the trees blocked her field of vision so she wasn’t able to follow the exact trail where everything was blown away. 

She continued to run, going in between the trees and frantically looking around everywhere.

While this happened, someone stood on the other side of the road.

Soft fingers reached for a book that had fallen from the sky, and picked it up out of curiosity. 

“What is this?” A sweet voice spoke. 

There was no way for Chika to know. There was no way for anyone to know. But a meeting that would change the fate of the world itself was just about to take place.


	2. From One to Zero - Part 1

The girl with orange colored hair ran across the tropical trees. She frantically looked all around as she searched for something, but that search would soon come to an end.

Once she made it to the other side of the road, she found something unexpected; or rather, someone. 

Another person stood in the middle of the road while holding an old book. 

Chika was taken aback and intently stared at the person before her for a few seconds without realizing it.

It was a young girl whose silhouette was illuminated by the setting sun. She had long and silky hair of a dark red color that gracefully fell behind her back. 

Her clothes also stood out, as they were different from anything Chika had seen in her small town before. 

The radiant girl wore a long summer pink dress that fluttered with the wind, and a cropped blue denim jacket on top.

She was distracted looking at the book that had fallen from the skies, but soon, she noticed Chika’s presence before her. 

She slowly stepped back as Chika’s eyes stared into her bright honey colored eyes. 

The two continued to stare at each other for a few seconds. There was silence, and the cold evening breeze continued to run by.

“Excuse me.” The long haired girl finally spoke up. 

She slowly stepped forward, moving in closer to Chika. 

“Is this…?”

She tried gesturing towards the book in her hands, but she was not allowed to finish her sentence. 

Just like the way the gentle breeze had vanished, her energy vanished in an instant as well. 

The girl’s vision became pitch black and her consciousness faded away. 

“A-Are you okay?!” 

Chika immediately took action and ran forward. She stretched out her arms, catching the girl before her figure collapsed against the ground.

She held the girl in her arms and continued to talk to her, but there was no response. 

Chika looked around and confirmed there was no one in the area that could help. With no choice but to take responsibility herself, she carried the girl like a princess, and rushed towards her own home. 

Time continued to pass by, and soon, the next day arrived. 

The mysterious girl slowly opened her eyes. She felt dazed and numb as she slowly tried sitting up. She had no clue of what happened, and had no way to know for how long she was out cold, but the bright morning sun already illuminated the room.

“Huh?”

The next thing she realized is that she was lying down on top of a cozy and warm bed. She felt something soft touching her arms, and realized she was tightly hugging a lobster-shaped plush.

“Where…?”

“You finally woke up!” 

A voice full of energy suddenly yelled and made her jump up startled. 

“You really worried me back then, so I brought you home! I couldn’t just leave you there!” 

Chika smiled and stood up from a wooden chair just next to the window. She then approached the nervous girl, and sat next to her on the bed.

“I see…” The girl replied with unease in her face. “Thank y-”

“By the way!” Chika interrupted her, moving even closer. “That pendant!”

“?”

“It’s a Love Gem!! Isn’t it?!”

“?!”

“Like I said! It’s a Love Gem! Just like the ones µ's used!”

“I don’t really know what you are talking about.” The long haired girl rapidly looked away. 

She fidgeted with her fingers while being unsure how to react. Making eye contact with Chika was scary, being in someone else’s room all of the sudden was scary as well. And of top of that…

A growling sound suddenly made the girl’s face flush red. She quickly covered her stomach with her arms and prayed that Chika did not notice.

On top of that… she realized she was so hungry she could pass out again at any moment.

Chika stared at her, and then a second growling noise came from her own tummy. 

“We match!” Chika started to laugh without caring too much about it. 

“That’s not something you should point out!!”

“Hehehe, don’t worry too much about it! It’s time for breakfast anyway, so let’s go- oh yeah! What’s your name?”

“Huh?” The girl paused for a moment. “Riko.” 

“Then, let’s go Riko!”

“Let’s go you say…”

“Aye Aye Chika! The food is ready!” 

A third person entered the room without warning. 

You did a salute with her hand as she smiled. She wore an apron on top of her clothes, and held a large cooking spatula in one of her hands.

“See?” Chika looked at Riko and nodded. “Let’s! Go!!”

Without much of a choice, Riko followed Chika downstairs and towards the dining room. She sat across Chika on a small table covered with a white cloth, and nervously looked away once she felt Chika’s gaze locked on her. 

“Here it is! Today’s special: Youcakes!” 

You served a plate that had a small tower of pancakes to each of them, and then sat next to Chika with her own plate.

“Thanks for the food!” They bowed without delay before digging in.

“…” 

Riko stared at the plate in front of her, hesitant to start eating.

“What’s wrong Riko?” Chika asked as she stuffed herself with a pancake after another.

“Is this okay?”

“What are you talking about? Of course it is!!” “I didn’t cook this for nothing you know!”

“Fine then.”

She decided to not hold back anymore, she was too hungry to have second thoughts in the first place. 

In a flash, the food from Riko’s plate was all already gone.

“…”

Chika and You stared at her in disbelief. 

“I haven’t even finished a single one…” You stared into the distance.

“Could it be?” Chika’s gaze locked into Riko once more. “Could it be? You know… the pink guy, the small round one that eats everything in one go! Could that be your real identity, Riko?!” 

“W-What are you talking about?! Stop looking at me like that!! I…I was just hungry that’s all!!”

“Sure “Riko.” That’s what you want us to think!”

“It’s not! It’s just the truth!!”

“Calm down Chika, maybe she was just hungry. She did pass out after all.” 

You decided to take things easy and simply continued to eat her breakfast.

“Hmph, we’ll see about that!”

Riko sighed and then noticed another plate with food next to an empty chair.

“Is someone else coming?”

“Oh! That’s for Kanan!” You replied. “It’s usually the three of us every morning, but…”

“She’s too late!” Chika complained. “I’m not responsible if I just eat her food!”

“Maybe she’s just too busy? Her dad did get injured recently, remember?”

“You may be right, but she never misses breakfast!”

“Want to go check on her after this?”

“Once I eat her food, yep!”

Riko stared at the two girls talking, and was unsure if she should stay or just leave already. It was easy to tell they were worried about someone missing, but part of her was grateful. Dealing with too many new people in one go might have been too nerve wracking.

“By the way,” This time it was You’s gaze that got locked into Riko. “What is your name? I didn’t introduce myself properly yet. I am You! You Watanabe!”

“And I am Chika!! I kind of forgot to say that earlier… hehe.”

“It’s nice to meet you! I am Riko. Thank you again for helping me and for the food.”

“It’s nothing!” Chika who had just finished her food slowly reached for Kanan’s plate. 

“Hm,” You brought a hand to her chin as she stared at Riko. “I’ve never seen you around before. Are you new here?”

“Um… yes, I am.”

“I knew it! Where are you from? It’s rare for people to come all the way here.”

“Ah… Um…”

“Hm?”

“Look You!” Chika interrupted them. “She has a Love Gem! It’s a Love Gem!!”

“Oh! You are right! Just like the ones in your book!!”

“Ahaha… a Love Gem, huh?” Riko smiled nervously as she held the pendant with her soft fingers.

It was a small and shiny heart-shaped pendant of a bright pink color. It felt like it was made out of a strong kind of jewel and it was also expensive-looking.

“That’s quite a thing to have! So… where did you come from? Tell us more about you!” You encouraged her but Riko didn’t seem too content with answering that question. 

“I…” She paused for a few seconds. She could see the two girls staring intently at her as they waited for her response. “I don’t remember.”

“Huh?!” 

“I don’t recall much, I’m sorry. I don’t remember anything about myself, or about getting this… Love Gem? I only know my name is Riko and that I was suddenly here. ”

“Hm…” Chika stopped for a moment to think. “Oh well, why don’t you tag along with us then?”

“Eh?”

“If you don’t remember anything it’s not like you have anything to do right now, is it?”

“Well that’s true…”

“It’s decided then!”

Chika smiled and You gave her an approving nod. 

“O…okay!”

Riko finally smiled and allowed herself to relax a little. 

Once breakfast was over, the three girls walked together towards the port. 

They stopped once they reached the small wooden boat that would always take them to Kanan’s diving shop. 

“Oh?” 

Chika could immediately tell that something was off and began to scan the area.

“What’s wrong?” Riko tilted her head confused.

“It’s gone!”

“?”

“Oh!” You quickly realized what Chika meant.

“It’s gone! The old man that always takes us to the diving shop is gone!” 

“Is he this boat’s owner? Then we can’t go check on your friend.” 

“No, we can.” You smirked. 

The gray haired girl then jumped into the boat and waved at the other girls to follow her.

“Let captain You take care of this!”

“Eh?!” 

Riko quickly started to regret joining them. 

“Don’t worry,” Chika nodded. “You always gets excited when we hang out like this.”

“That’s not the problem here!!”

“Aye aye, I’m all set!” You saluted them from above the ship as she ran towards the control cabin.

“Let’s go Riko!” 

The orange haired girl started pushing Riko towards the boat enthusiastically. There was no way to escape. 

“W-Wait! Why do we have to-?!”

“Let’s! Go! Ri! Ko!” 

In the end, she boarded the ship, and sat on the back together with Chika.

“Full speed ahead! Yousoro!” You yelled cheerfully, and the boat slowly started moving. 

Riko couldn’t help but expect the worst. She closed her eyes tightly and attempted to brace herself for anything, but instead, the boat began to sail steadily. 

“See? There’s nothing to worry about!” 

Chika had known You ever since they were kids. She was well aware about how You would constantly go sailing with her father, a skilled captain. Sailing with a boat like this was just child’s play for You.

“That’s what you say but…”

Riko took a deep breath and then opened her eyes.

Contrary to all of her expectations, she was welcomed by a wonderful view of the vast ocean spreading before her. The fresh breeze made her hair dance across the air and the sunny skies greeted her good morning.

“See? Not so bad!”

“You are right.”

Riko was speechless, and her eyes glimmered as they stared at the scene before her. 

It didn’t take long before they reached their destination. Once they did, the boat stopped by the dock next to the diving shop.

“We are here!” 

You returned from the cabin and gave a them a thumbs up.

“Good job captain,” Chika gave You a salute in return. “I knew I could count with you.”

Riko slowly stood up and awkwardly stepped off the boat. She stared at the girls who continued to talk and joke with each other. She was grateful to have met them, but at the same time, she couldn’t help but feel like she might be intruding. 

(“I can’t keep up with their pace at all.”) She sighed as she whispered to herself.

“Come on Riko!” 

The long haired girl was forcefully snapped out of her thoughts as Chika held her wrist and pulled her closer.

“Y-Yeah. Is this where your friend lives?”

“Nope!”

“Then why are we…?”

“Sorry Riko, I think we forgot to explain.” You scratched her head feeling a little embarrassed. “This is the diving shop where our friend Kanan works.”

“Yup! Usually she just works part-time but lately she’s been spending way too much time here!” Chika crossed her arms and pouted.

“I see.” 

Riko looked around feeling confused. It was her first time here, but she could tell something felt off.

“Isn’t this place closed?”

“Huh?!” 

Chika and You quickly realized it as well. 

The place was completely empty. The doors to the store were closed, and there wasn’t any noise or signs of anyone nearby.

“I’ll go check!” 

You decided to go knock on the door to make sure and ran off.

“Maybe we are here too early?” Riko suggested.

“No way!” Chika refuted immediately. “Most of the customers come in the morning, so it’s usually the busiest time!”

“Hm.” Even if the shop just happened to be closed. Riko couldn’t help but feel that something else was off entirely. She knew something was off, but she couldn’t tell what it was exactly.

“Nope! There’s no one here.” You reported as soon as she returned.

“Not even Kanan’s dad?!” 

“Sorry Chika. I don’t think so.” 

“You! This can’t be!” Chika placed her hands on You’s shoulders and started shaking her back and forth. “What if evil magicians took him and Kanan?!”

“Calm down Chika, that’s impossible.” 

You shook her head and then placed her hands on Chika’s shoulders with a tight grasp. 

“But You!!”

“Chika! It’s… okay!! There isn’t such thing as evil magicians here in Numazu to begin with!!” 

“There isn’t?”

“There isn’t!”

“Oh… okay then!”

“So…” Riko decided to speak up. “If your friend isn’t here, what do we do now?”

“Let’s see…” 

Chika stared at the empty shop, then at the boat in the harbor, and finally her sight locked into Riko. To be more specific, she stared intently at the pendant around Riko’s neck.

“I got it!”

Chika’s eyes illuminated as she came up with an exciting idea.

“?”

“We’ll go find ourselves a Love Gem!”

“What?”

“Yup! One exactly like yours!”

“But Chika,” You crossed her arms. “Where are we supposed to even find one?”

“Well…!” The orange haired girl started to explain. “You know of the small isle north of here? Kanan never lets us go so we don’t know what’s in there, do we? What if it’s full of Love Gems?!”

“I’m not sure about that…” You smiled nervously. “Shouldn’t we go look for Kanan instead?”

“You don’t understand! It’s because Kanan isn’t here that we have to take this rare chance!”

“Do we?”

“We do!! Think about it! You get to sail to unknown lands! You get to be the first one to discover them!”

“Oh!” You’s eyes lit up as the idea hit her. “You are right!!”

“Of course I am! Let’s go!!”

“W…Wait!” Riko yelled at the girls who had already jumped back into the boat. “Where are we going now?!”

“To do some exploring! Hurry and get on!” 

The long haired girl sighed and got back on the boat.

“Chika… why do you want one of these so badly?”

“Isn’t it obvious? It’s because it’s a Love Gem! One of the legendary treasures that µ's used!!”

“Me..ows?”

“No! It’s µ's!!”

“Right.”

“You don’t know them?! Oh… right, you don’t have memories so of course you don’t. Hold on!”

Chika picked up a book which sat just next to her and opened it, showing Riko the illustration with nine radiant maidens. 

“These are µ's! They are the legendary heroes who saved the world!!”

“Oh. They do look like quite something.” Riko admitted, but she didn’t seem to be fully convinced. “I don’t know about saving the world though.”

“They did! And that’s the proof!” Chika pointed at Riko’s pendant. “You have a Love Gem! If Love Gems exist then that means that the story of µ's is real too!”

“Proof that the world was saved, huh?” 

Riko was lost in thought as she held the pendant with her fingers and stared at it. 

As the boat left the shore and moved forward across the seas, a figure stood just outside the shop’s cottage.

“I see. So this is where you decided to escape Miss Sakurauchi.”

Their lips moved and formed a malicious smirk as they stared at the boat with the three girls on board.

The girls carefreely sailed towards the isle, but in that moment, something inside the boat decided to wake up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! This is Stella Procella. Thank you for reading all the way here! 
> 
> A small thing I wanted to point out is that I decided to leave You’s catchphrase: “Yousoro,” in Japanese. I wasn’t too content with some possible translations, and I feel it is part of You’s charm as well. 
> 
> This is the start of what will possibly be a very long story, so I hope you stick around with Chika and her friends through their adventure. Unless something comes up, I am planning to update every Friday, so please look forward to it! ☆


	3. From One to Zero - Part 2

A small boat sailed the seas under the morning sun. It was just another day in Numazu, a port town located just north of Uchiura. 

In the midst of the usual every day, three girls made their way towards an undiscovered isle. 

“Are we there yet?” Chika yawned as her patience started to run out.

She and Riko had both walked towards the control cabin to support their friend who continued to maneuver the boat. 

“Even if you ask me… it’s not like I’ve been there before, so I wouldn’t know for sure.” 

You continued to focus on the sea around her. It was not the first time that she had sailed towards undiscovered land, but this time she couldn’t help but feel nervous. While it was true that the young sailor girl was experienced thanks to her trips with her father, in the end, the one who ended up saving the day was always her father. No matter what adversity came their way, the legendary captain that dominated the sea would always find a way. 

The young girl admired him, she wanted to become like him. No, she wanted to surpass him. And yet, now that she got a chance, she couldn’t help but hesitate.

“It should be around here… It’s okay…” 

You spoke out loud without directing it to anyone in particular. She was so focused on her search that she started to lose sight of her surroundings inside the boat. She was too distracted to even listen to Chika and Riko’s conversation even though both were just next to her.

“I think we should go back after all.”

Riko suggested with a stern expression. The long haired girl couldn’t shake off a bad feeling as they continued to move further away from solid land without a real objective in sight.

“We can’t!” Chika refuted immediately. “This is a precious chance that we can’t let go! Where is your spirit of adventure?”

“I don’t think I ever had one in the first place.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure!”

“What do you mean?”

“You have a Love Gem, don’t you? They are very special and rare relics that only µ's could get their hands on. Did you know? Even µ's had a hard time getting theirs! How can you say you have no spirit of adventure when the proof is right there with you?!”

“Er…Yeah.” Riko couldn’t find any words to refute Chika’s statement. 

She sighed and looked away with a troubled expression in her face. She wasn’t only troubled because of the current situation, but there was also something else, something that stabbed at her heart and prevented her from saying anything more. 

The long haired girl walked towards the back of the boat, and placed her hands on the edge as she looked at the sea around her. Her thoughts continued to cloud her mind, and the pendant around her neck only felt like a heavy weight. In the end, she could only mutter her thoughts under her breath. 

“I don’t think it proves anything.” 

Silence followed the scene with nothing but the calm sounds of waves around them and the morning breeze. 

No… there was something else. A small and light sound that was barely audible. 

The sound came from a small, translucent and round ball that started rolling across the ship. It continued to roll at a slow pace, until it finally bumped against Riko’s leg with a small thud.

“Wha-?!”

The long haired girl jumped up and let out a squeal. 

“T-This is…”

She turned around, and kneeled down to get a closer look at the small ball just next to her.

“Wait a moment.”

Her voice slowly broke down, and her heavy expression changed into one of mild terror.

“Wait a moment!! No, what is this of all things doing here?!”

“What happened?!” Chika came running the moment she heard Riko’s scream. 

The long haired girl slowly stood up and stared at Chika. 

“C-Chika… that…”

“What’s that?” 

Chika walked closer and stared at the small translucent ball just in front of them. Unlike Riko, she wasn’t able to recognize what it was at all, and was simply confused as to why her friend seemed to be under so much panic. Deciding there was only one way to find out, Chika kneeled down ready to pick it up but…

“WAIT!!” 

Riko yelled, making Chika jump back by instinct. 

“Wait! Wait!! Don’t just touch it!!”

“Eh? Why not? It’s just… a ball? A fruit…?”

“No it’s not!! That is… that is!!”

“What is it?”

“It’s a dragon!!!!”

“…”

Chika stared at her in complete disbelief. 

“Um… Riko… I know you lost your memories and all but… there is no way that is a dragon.”

“I’m telling you it is!!!!”

“It doesn’t look like one to me!! Besides µ's never even fought a dragon, there are no dragons!!” 

“Please listen to me!! That’s how they look once someone sealed them!!”

“Huh? I don’t understand what you are talking about. And if it’s sealed isn’t it harmless then?”

“Just… It could be but I’m not willing to take the risk! Please just… No! Stop! Stop picking it up! Chika!!!”

But the orange haired girl did not listen. She held the translucent ball up with her hands before Riko could even finish speaking.

“See? Nothing happened.”

“Thank goodness.” Riko let out a sigh of relief. 

“Wait a moment…” Chika looked at Riko and squinted her eyes at her. 

“W-What is it now?”

“If you have no memories how would you even know what this is?”

“That’s…”

Yet again, the long haired girl was not allowed to finish her sentence.

The sound of something heavy shattering apart resounded in the area. The source of this sound was the ball between Chika’s hands. 

Chika’s hands glowed with a warm light as the ball itself became shrouded in it.

“Waaah!!” 

The orange haired girl let go of the ball by instinct, but it did not hit the floor.

Instead, it began to float just in front of them. To be more precise, it was flying. It had grown two small wings that allowed it to fly, but that wasn’t all. The ball continued to glow, and started changing in shape and size until it became as tall as Chika herself. Once the glow dissipated, the form it gained was that of a black scaly dragon with red eyes. 

The flying beast let out a menacing roar and jumped into the boat with a lot of force. 

The beast landed just between Chika and Riko, making water splash into the ship, and making it rock from side to side thanks to the impact. 

“W-W-W-W-What did I tell you?!”

“But I didn’t do anything!!!”

The two girls stepped back as slowly as they could. Chika could feel her heart racing as the beast’s eyes locked into her. She could tell the beast was paying close attention to their every move, and it was hard to tell when it would decide to go after them. 

“What do we do now…?” 

Riko asked in a faint and low tone as she clung into Chika’s arm.

Chika couldn’t find a response for that question. What should she do now? She was well aware she couldn’t use any kind of magic. Unlike You and Kanan she had no athletic skills either. She never experienced any real combat, and on top of that, a mythical creature that not even µ's had taken on was now before her. What should she do? What COULD she do? 

“What happened?!” 

You came running from outside the control cabin the moment she felt the impact on the ship. However, coming to check on them like this was a mistake. 

The moment she yelled at the girls, the beast reacted immediately. You was not given any time to process what happened or think of what to do. The dragon had already leaped towards her at full speed. 

In that moment, the one to react was Chika. Even though she was scared, even though she didn’t know what to do, her legs started moving before she could realize it. She used all her strength to try and make it in time, and leaped towards You. Once her tackle connected, both rolled across the wooden deck of the boat, barely managing to avoid the dragon’s claws. But now they had a new problem.

The moment the dragon pulled its claws away from the wooden deck, spurts of water started shooting into the boat. At this rate, they were going to sink.

You’s eyes widened in panic the moment she saw this. The gray haired girl slowly stood up while trying to withstand the pain in her body. She was the only one that could do something about the boat’s current state. She had to hurry and get them to safe land, but it wouldn’t be so easy. Her eyes met with the dragon that stared at them waiting for another chance to attack. Even if she had to conduct the ship, she couldn’t leave Chika behind here.

“You…” Chika groaned as she slowly stood up. “Go take care of the ship. I’ll do something about this.”

“But Chika what are you-?!”

You raised her voice without realizing it, and in turn, the Dragon reacted as well. Gaining altitude in seconds, the dragon prepared to dive towards them, this time there was no telling if the boat would make it.

“Don’t worry!” This time it was Riko who stood up. 

The long haired girl gathered all her courage and ran towards the girls. She swung her arm across the air, and following her motion, a powerful gust of wind shot against the dragon. It forced it into a different direction and away from the ship.

“I will take care of this, so please take us to safety.”

Riko’s eyes were full of determination. 

Chika couldn’t help but to stare speechless at the display of power Riko had just mustered. She could tell without a doubt, that she had just used wind magic. It was a rare kind of magic that only one person in µ's was able to truly master. 

“Got it! I’m counting on you!” 

You nodded and decided to believe in her friends. She dashed towards the control cabin and started to maneuver the boat, but… where should she go? They had already been sailing for about twenty minutes with no sign of land. Going back to the port would take too much time, but there was no guarantee they could find safe land if they continued to go on this course. And on top of that, the boat already started to lose speed because of the weight of the water.

“Think! Think! Think!! You Watanabe, think!!” 

She bit her lip not knowing what to do. Even if she was an exceptional swimmer, there was no guarantee she could save both Chika and Riko like this, and on top of that… 

A powerful roar resounded once again. The dragon flapped its wings as it stared at Chika and Riko with eyes full of blood thirst. Angered after the previous impact, this time, it wouldn’t take its time to examine them anymore. It flew towards them at full speed ready to shatter the boat apart. 

Riko immediately reacted, extending out her arms and releasing a powerful blast of wind. The wind current hit the dragon directly but it wasn’t enough to stop it. This time, the dragon was not blown away. Instead, it continued flapping its wings, fighting against Riko’s magic. The long haired girl clenched her fists, trying to increase the output of her power, but she knew it was not enough. She could feel the dragon slowly breaking through, slowly making its way towards them.

“Chika…” Riko could barely talk properly. She was putting too much effort on holding back the beast, and she could feel her energy rapidly running low. “What kind of… magic can you… use?”

“None.” 

Riko could feel a sinking feeling on her gut when she heard Chika’s reply. 

“This isn’t the time to be joking!!”

“It’s not a joke!” 

Chika wasn’t happy to reply like this. If possible, she would have wanted to be like Honoka, and be able to use all different kinds of magic. But she couldn’t. She wasn’t Honoka. She wasn’t even at the level of her friends, she was powerless. She was powerless, and yet…

“C-Chika?! Where are you-?!”

Riko panicked as Chika simply ran away, but Riko didn’t have the leisure to follow after her. She could feel the Dragon’s pressure as it continued to try and break its way through her magic. 

Completely powerless and with no other choice, Chika ran. She could feel her feet getting wet as the water entering the boat now almost reached her ankles. She had no choice, she could use no magic, and she couldn’t fight. 

And yet, she wasn’t going to let that stop her. 

The orange haired girl ran towards the ladder leading to the boat’s mast and started to climb up. She could feel her legs and arms in pain after the impact from tackling You earlier, but she decided to ignore it. She had to do something. 

You was in charge of taking them to safe land. Riko was in charge of stopping the dragon. So then, what could she do? She had no choice but to trust her friends and support them, but she couldn’t just stand there and watch.

The moment she reached the top of the mast, she had a better view of the area around them. And then, something immediately caught her eye. It was a small patch of land just a few meters away. She didn’t know if this was the isle they were looking for, but it was their best option.

“YOU!!!!!” She yelled at the top of her lungs so that her friend in the control cabin could hear her. “TURN EAST AND KEEP GOING STRAIGHT FROM THERE!!!!!!!”

“Chika?!” You was able to hear her loud and clear. 

You was confused. She was certain she had seen nothing in the direction Chika was pointing to. But even then, at a time like this, she was ready to trust Chika without questioning it. She held the steering wheel tightly. She could feel the ship going even slower and turning around was difficult, but she couldn’t give up. 

The moment Chika realized her message was delivered, she knew there was something else to take care of: the dragon. 

The winged beast was starting to get closer to Riko. It was clear the long haired girl couldn’t resist any longer. 

Chika didn’t know if it would work, she didn’t know if it was the right thing to do, but she simply jumped. The orange haired girl let out a battle cry as she jumped from atop the mast, putting all her weight on her upper body, and flying towards the dragon. 

Riko screamed the moment the impact happened. 

Chika body slammed the dragon with all her strength, in seconds, the dragon lost balance and was sent crashing against the water. But Chika couldn’t control her fall after that. 

Riko could tell her friend lost consciousness the moment of impact. Chika started falling down from the sky and towards the sea. At this rate…

“Chika!!!”

The long haired girl used what remained of her strength and released another magical skill. A gust of wind flew and danced across the air. It enveloped Chika and cushioned her fall as it carried her back to the boat. 

Riko fell down on her knees while panting. She could feel cold sweat running down her forehead and her hands couldn’t stop shaking.

Forcing herself to move onward, Riko reached for Chika’s limp body. She pulled Chika out of the water that now filled the ship. The orange haired girl had bruises on her arms, but she had only lost consciousness. 

The long haired girl looked around, she couldn’t shake the feeling that the beast would soon return, but all she could see was the peaceful sea around her.

“Is it… weak to water?” Riko murmured, trying to accept that the beast wouldn’t be coming back. 

In that moment, the boat finally reached land.

Riko and You walked away from the boat while holding the unconscious girl. 

They stood by the edge of a small isle in the middle of the sea. The boat which had taken considerable damage was now stuck on the coast, and it didn’t look like it would be able to move again. 

“What do we do now?”

Riko followed You with a stern expression. 

The gray haired girl continued to walk as she tried to browse the area. She held Chika on her back, and while she was tired from everything that happened, her main concern was finding somewhere safe to rest.

“Do you think it will come back?”

“The dragon? I wouldn’t be able to know for certain… but I think it may be weak to water.”

“If we can’t tell for sure, we can’t rest easily just yet.” 

In the many adventures she had lived with her father, You had never encountered something like a dragon. However, she had faced different kind of dangers like weaker monsters or pirates. In situations like this, there were always two rules she knew she should follow as captain. The first one: never let your guard down. If there was no way to know for sure, assuming the dragon was gone and defeated could prove a fatal mistake.

You sighed, not being able to shake away the feeling of unease. 

The patch of land where they had arrived was in fact very small, even if they continued to walk, it probably wouldn’t take long for them to reach the other side. At first glance it was just a small patch of land filled with dried grass and sand, but that wasn’t all there was to it. 

The moment they reached the center of the isle, something caught their attention. 

There was a hole in the center, just big enough for a person to fit in, and below the hole, there was a ramp-like path that continued further down. 

“I think we should go.” You took a decision in an instant. “Even if the dragon comes back it shouldn’t be able to fit through here.”

“You are right but…” 

Riko on the other hand, hesitated for a moment. Going down that hole did sound like the best plan to avoid the dragon, but there was also no telling what else could be further below. 

“Let’s go.”

You couldn’t afford to waste any more time waiting for Riko’s decision. It’s not like she wasn’t aware of any other possible dangers, but facing another dragon would probably mean game over for them at this point. 

“R-Right.” 

Not being able to defy the young captain, Riko followed her into the path below. 

The moment she stepped in, the path was rocky and a little unsteady. It felt like walking down a ramp, but the light of the sun wouldn’t illuminate the area properly anymore, so everything around her became pitch black. 

She continued stepping forward, and was just barely managing to make out the silhouette of the girl walking in front of her. She couldn’t help but feel her own unsteady heartbeat as she continued to step forward without knowing what could happen in any second. 

The sound of the sea’s waves resounded in her head and before she knew it, the area was illuminated. 

She stepped forward to see the sudden scenery around her. 

They had reached a large cave located just at the end of the path. However, even inside a cave, this felt more like a refreshing flower field. The floor was covered with a cape of red camellia flowers in full bloom. The flowers were covered with a gentle white light that spread across the air into tiny sparkling orbs that completely illuminated the area. 

For a moment, she forgot about everything. 

You was also dumbfounded by the image before her, but she came back to her senses soon enough.  
The cave was wide and the flower field spread beyond what they could see. As much as You would have wanted to explore further in, for now, she finally felt relief.

“This place is safe enough, let’s take a break.”

She slowly let down Chika on the flowerbed and lied down next to her. 

“Y…Yeah.” 

Riko finally came back to her senses as well. Once most of the fear had gone away, she realized her arms hurt, and her body was exhausted. Using so much wind magic had taken a greater toll than she predicted, so she just let herself lie down as well. 

“I could sleep here forever.” 

Riko jokingly let out as she closed her eyes. 

“I could too, but it would be a problem if we did!” 

You laughed it off as she stretched and took a deep breath. 

There was only silence for a few minutes, but Riko was the one to end it abruptly.

“Do you think Chika will be okay?”

“Of course she will!! I checked on her, and she’s fine. She’ll wake up soon!”

“I sure hope so…”

“Nothing to worry about! You know, this is very similar to something that happened once before.”

“Something that happened before?”

“Yeah,” You closed her eyes as images started to flow into her head. “Chika and I have known each other since as far as I can remember. Even as a little kid, she was always stubborn and reckless. She doesn’t think twice before doing things other people wouldn’t normally do. Usually we hang out with our friend Kanan, but this time it was only the two of us. We wandered off outside town even if we were warned not to. I can’t remember why anymore. But it didn’t take us long to be attacked by a wild monster.”

“A monster?!”

“Yeah! But it was nothing like a dragon! It was just one of those tiny blob-like monsters, come to think of it, they are usually harmless. But at that moment, it was terrifying for us, and as harmless as they can be, it tried to attack us. Of course, I was too scared to do anything about it so Chika jumped in to fight it but got injured in the process. In the end we managed to make it back, and you know? Chika simply smiled, saying that she would be there to protect me. I was glad that she was there, but, something felt wrong. I didn’t want Chika to just protect me, I wanted to be able to protect her too, but that’s why…! I’m frustrated! I wasn’t able to protect her again!”

“You, that’s not true.” Riko refuted immediately. “If it wasn’t for you, we would have likely drowned back then. At that moment I’m sure Chika believed in you to take us to safety. I can tell you two are close and I… I may not know too much about you, or what your lives have been like, but I can at least tell you that I am truly grateful for saving me as well, and I’m sure Chika wouldn’t take something like this for granted either.” 

You rubbed her eyes the moment she could feel them starting to get watery. The gray haired girl clenched her fist, not letting her emotions get the best of her, but even then her voice unwillingly came out a little shaky.

“Really? Do you think so…?”

“Of course! Even if I haven’t known you guys for long it’s really easy to tell that Chika really cares about you and trusts you, you know, anyone could tell.”

“Ah… Is that so?”

“It is!”

You took a deep breath and then jumped up, trying to sound cheerful and lighten up her mood. 

“Hehe, sorry! I was being a little weird for a moment there, wasn’t I?”

“Don’t worry about it.” Riko shook her head and smiled at the girl. “So… what should we do now?”

“I don’t think we can go back on that ship. Maybe I can swim back to the port and get a new boat to pick you up.”

“Nonono! That doesn’t sound like a good plan!!”

“It doesn’t? I’m a great swimmer though! It’s no problem!”

“That’s not the problem! I’m not letting you go with that dragon possibly out there!”

“But then what do we-?”

You stopped abruptly before being able to finish her sentence. She held her finger in front of her lips to signal Riko to be silent.

The long haired girl stared at her confused. She couldn’t tell what was happening, and looked around trying to figure out something, but it didn’t take long for her to notice as well. 

There were footsteps, many heavy footsteps rapidly approaching. The sound of footsteps then went silent, but it caused them to panic rather than feeling relief. 

The reason they panicked was simple. The sound of footsteps had changed into the sound of flapping wings. They had no time to react. In the blink of an eye, a hoard of flying dragons flew just above them and surrounded them. 

A total of eight dragons formed a circle, locking them inside and trapping them. The dragons all looked like the one they had found inside the boat, and were the same size as well.

Riko and You slowly walked backwards while facing the dragons. They stopped the moment their backs bumped into each other, and in that moment, they realized they had nowhere to run. 

“This can’t be… if there’s these many then it means…” 

Riko didn’t want to finish her sentence and reach the logical conclusion, so it was You who did it instead.

“Yeah, it means we walked right into their nest.”

In that moment, all the dragons jumped towards them at the same time. With nowhere to escape, Riko and You braced themselves. 

“Riko! You said they were weak to water right?!”

“They should be!!”

“Then…”

You took a deep breath and clapped her hands together as hard as she could. The sound of her palms hitting against each other resounded and echoed through the cave. 

Unlike her previous pranks, it wasn’t just one or two bubbles that came out when she activated her magic. Hundreds of bubbles all began to pop out of thin air and started flying at full speed across the air. 

The moment the bubbles hit their target, the dragons stopped their attack. They roared in anger, but fell back and glared at their prey.

“I don’t think that’s enough to stop them! What do we do?!”

You couldn’t help but panic the moment the dragons continued to roar and spread their wings once more.

“No, it did work! They stopped the attack! Can you keep doing that? I’ll give you support.”

“It’s easier said than done.” You tried to gasp for air as her energy dropped. “But I’ll do it! We have to protect Chika!”

“We will!”

(What do you mean we will?!) The long haired girl couldn’t help but to scream in her mind. (I used up almost all my energy back then!! How am I going to keep this up?!)

With their wings flapping in the air, the dragons flew up as high as they could and dove towards their enemies at full force.

You let out a yell as she clapped her hands together with so much strength she could feel a shockwave running across her arms, and spreading throughout her body. 

Hundreds of bubbles started popping up once more, but they didn’t stop, hundreds and hundreds of bubbles made of water magic continued to surround her.

(What am I hesitating for? I have to do it!)

Riko slammed her hands against her cheeks to pull herself together and extended out her arms. She released a blast of wind magic that made the bubbles swirl around them, and form a large shield. 

The moment the dragons dove down, they crashed against the bubble shield, and their attack was halted once again.

You had continued to generate bubbles nonstop, and waiting for the moment the shield broke, Riko used her wind magic to reinforce them, and send them flying against the dragons like projectiles. 

The bubble bullets sank deep into the dragon’s scaly skin, and followed by a blast of wind magic, they were sent flying against the cave’s ceiling. 

The beasts roared in pain and the cave itself trembled. 

“Let’s get out of here!!”

You yelled the moment a large stone fell from above. The cave itself was ready to crumble, and they had to get out immediately. 

Even if her entire body was trembling, You rapidly picked up Chika, put her weight on her back, and dashed into the outside area of the isle followed by Riko. 

The two of them ran as close to the coast as they could, and the ground around the center all collapsed, burying down the cave with the dragons. 

“D…Did we make it?!” 

Riko was having trouble catching her breath, and knew that You was in no better state than her.

“I hope so. Even if they are dragons, they shouldn’t have survived that!”

But reality wouldn’t be so kind. 

From deep within the rubble, a beast rose up. It was a beast unlike anything they had expected.

Instead of the small dragons that were the size of an average person, a giant dragon that rose up into the skies stood before them. 

“W-Wha-?!”

You couldn’t believe her eyes as the ominous beast stared down at her from the heavens. 

“They… they fused.”

Riko whispered under her breath as she hopelessly stared into the distance.

“You are kidding me, aren’t you?! You have to be!!”

You yelled in panic but Riko couldn’t bring herself to respond.

“Riko…” The young captain slowly put down Chika and clenched her fist. Despite the deep terror running inside her, her care for her friend was first. “Take care of Chika.”

In the end, there were always two main rules You would follow as a captain. The second one being the most important one: always make sure your crew makes it back safely, no matter what.

“You… what are you?!”

“I already used up all of my legend power! That means I can’t use magic anymore so this is all I can do!!”

The girl ran with all her might towards the giant beast. 

(What do I do? What do I do? Riko!! What should you do?! Do something!!!!)

The long haired girl stared hopelessly as the scene before her. She stared at Chika who was still unconscious at her feet. And then she stared at You’s back as she ran towards her own demise. She knew that You had absolutely no way of winning against that giant beast. She knew that if the beast wanted they all would meet their end in a second. It was all over.

She knew that and yet. 

(Riko!! Stop being a coward!!! You have to do something!!!!)

“I have to…” Her hand reached for the pendant around her neck, and her fist clenched tightly around the pink gem which let out a radiant glow. “I have to save them!!”


	4. From One to Zero - Part 3

A giant dragon rose up high into the skies. The light of the very sun was covered as the beast spread its wings. The dragon had sharp claws that could tear apart the land itself, and menacing eyes full of blood thirst that looked down into its pray.

A single girl ran towards her own demise in a futile attempt to protect her friend. 

Another girl lied down on the floor unconscious after putting her life on the line to save everyone. 

This hopeless scene spread before Riko’s eyes. 

Everything was lost. There wasn’t any way out of a situation like that. Riko knew this. She knew struggling at this point would be in vain, and yet.

She held the pendant around her neck tightly with her hand. 

The powerful beast wouldn’t wait any longer and launched itself towards the powerless girl. 

“I have to save them.”

Riko let out a statement full of resolve. In that moment, the Love Gem let out a radiant glow. 

Time came to a stop and the long haired girl stood in an empty world where everything was blank. There was nothing and no one aside for herself. And yet, her image reflected in front of her as if a wide, translucent mirror also existed there. 

“Do you really want to go on with this?” The image in her reflection spoke.

“I can’t hesitate.”

“If you do this, you won’t be able to turn back anymore.”

“It doesn’t matter. I have to save them.”

“Idolization. Are you prepared to unite your soul and heart as one?”

“I am prepared.”

The figure in her reflection slowly nodded and reached out for Riko’s hand. The long haired girl walked forward and reached for her own reflection. 

The flow of time resumed, and the glow exploded into a powerful radiance that engulfed everything within. 

In that moment, the orange haired girl slowly opened her eyes. Her gaze was met by a powerful radiance that spread across the area. The radiance which came from someone that continued to walk forward.

The light rapidly dissipated, and sparks of light danced around the long haired girl’s body. 

Riko’s clothes had changed. Instead, her body was now covered by a white top with a large pink ribbon tied in front of her chest. Her legs were covered by a white frilly skirt, long white thighs and a larger pink ribbon on her back that swayed from side to side with the wind. 

The long haired girl glared at the beast in front of her, and then she spoke in a serious tone.

“Idolization: Aquarium.” 

In that moment Riko jumped up high, at greater heights than what was humanly possible. She clenched her fist and launched a powerful punch against the dragon’s head. The moment her fist connected, a crushing sound echoed across the island and the beast was thrown back towards the sea. 

The dragon however, wasn’t willing to go down so easily. Violently flapping its wings, it managed to fly up and avoid crashing against the sea.

Riko then ducked, dodging the dragon that launched a body slam with its full weight behind it. 

The beast used its claws and ripped apart the air while trying to reach the long haired girl who just barely managed to dodge yet another attack.

“You,” Riko spoke at the girl who stood just a few steps away. “Go protect Chika.”

“G-Got it!” 

After doing a salute gesture, the gray haired girl ran away from the dragon and towards her friend. The moment she reached Chika, she was surprised by realizing she had now woken up.

“Chika! Are you okay?”

But the orange haired girl didn’t respond.

“Chika?”

She couldn’t respond. Her full attention was directed at the scene before her. It was directed at the girl fighting the dragon by showing an incredible display of power. The moment she witnessed this scene, it was almost like…

“It’s just like µ's.” The orange haired girl whispered under her breath. 

Not being able to lay a single scratch on Riko, the giant beast spat out a barrage of flames. It was an attack strong enough to burn down a house or two to a crisp, but it wouldn’t be enough to take down its opponent.

The fire was blasted apart by a powerful strike of wind magic. Now that You had retreated and there was enough space between them, the long haired girl went fully on the offensive. 

She launched a punch towards the air, which in turn sent a blast of compressed wind towards the dragon’s gut. The force of the impact was so grand that the wind itself spread across the island like the raging wind before a storm. 

(You can do it, Riko. Calm down, you can do it!)

The long haired girl kept going. She released another powerful blast of wind, and this time it sent the dragon flying up high into the skies. 

(You can do it!!)

She jumped, released another powerful air current under her feet to propel herself, and punched the dragon on its back, sending it up even higher into the skies.

Despite gaining access to incredible power, Riko could feel her heart pounding fast, and her breathing rapidly getting unsteady. Even as she punched the dragon, she could feel her hands trembling and her body getting colder. 

In that moment, the memory of voices she couldn’t recognize anymore echoed in her head. 

_“You failed again? What’s up with that? I don’t get it! You got nervous again didn’t you?”_

_“Tch. Says the one that used to get nervous the most!”_

_“T-This and that are different! Listen Riko, I’m telling you this because you need to understand. You won’t be able to make it if you don’t believe in yourself.”_

(Do I… believe in myself?)

The moment she let these thoughts flow in, Riko unwillingly let her guard down. 

Using this chance, the dragon swung its tail against the girl with its full force.

Riko could barely manage to place her arms in front of her body to block the attack, but she was still shot down towards the island at full force. She tried using her magic to reduce the force of the impact but her body still crashed against the solid sand. 

The beast wouldn’t be willing to let her get the upper hand again, and before she could notice it, the menacing eyes of the dragon were just in front of her. This was because the dragon had dived down after her and then slammed its body at full force against her.

A tremor spread across the entire island once the attack connected. Chika was speechless; she couldn’t even let out a scream while You simply looked away.

(Riko, stop being stupid!!) The long haired girl yelled inside her mind.

“I don’t have the leisure to hesitate at a time like this!!” Riko screamed. She had managed to avoid getting crushed to death by using her magic as a shield. She had the palm of her hand just against the dragon’s head who continued to push down as it tried to bury her in the sand.

The long haired girl released a blast of wind that sent the dragon away, giving her enough time to stand up and regain her footing.

Deciding it was time to end this once and for all, Riko concentrated all her magic. The sparkles of light around her began to gather on her hands, and took the shape of a giant, radiant and powerful white bow. 

She pointed directly at the dragon with her trembling hands as incredible amounts of wind magic gathered around her, taking the shape of an arrow. The wind started to spiral around her like a tornado, making sand fly and spread everywhere.

She held the arrow, and glared at the opponent she was ready to shoot down. 

(I can’t….) 

Even then, she couldn’t help but to doubt herself. She couldn’t stop her hands from trembling, and fear from spreading across her body. Being in a situation like this, no matter how strong she had suddenly gotten, could she really make it like this?

“RIKO!!” A familiar voice reached her ears. It was Chika who yelled at the top of her lungs while being held back by You. “I BELIEVE IN YOU RIKO!!”

She didn’t know why, but hearing this made her feel like her confidence was coming back for just an instant. The long haired girl released the arrow that shot forward with incredible force.

“Chika… I…” 

Riko clenched her fist against her chest and tried to hold back her tears.

“I’m sorry.”

The arrow never reached its target.

It dissipated into the air and disappeared without a trace.

Just like Riko’s strongest attack, the light around Riko’s body dissipated as well, and her clothes went back to normal. The pendant around her neck lost its color, and instead, it turned into a dark black stone. 

The long haired girl could feel her body catching up with all the damage it had taken up till now and incredible pain spread across her arms and legs. 

“I can’t do it after all.” 

She limped as she tried to walk forward but could not give another step further. She held her right arm while trying to endure the pain, but it was clear she was in no state to fight anymore. 

Despite her efforts, despite having come this far, the beast wouldn’t have mercy. 

Realizing its prey had given up, the giant dragon opened its mouth, bearing its deadly fangs and flying towards the long haired girl. 

“Riko!!!” Chika and You both screamed. 

Before You could realize it, Chika had dashed forward. She ran towards Riko and pushed her out of the way. The long haired girl’s body rolled across the sand and her eyes opened wide in panic. The dragon’s mouth was big enough to tear Chika apart in a single bite. Riko could feel her heart sinking and breaking into little pieces by the scene before her, and no matter how much she tried, her body wouldn’t move. 

(This is all my fault! This is my fault!!)

Riko blamed herself, but she knew nothing would change no matter how much she did.

“I have to… make it in time!!!!” 

A voice screamed. It was a new voice that Riko had not heard before. The long haired girl couldn’t even tell what happened.

It was the tall ponytail girl. She had reached the scene, and a moment before the dragon ended Chika’s life, she jumped and kicked the dragon’s head. This kick was followed by a powerful torrent of water that shot and spread from within the sole of her feet, completely engulfing the dragon’s body. 

Being hit by its biggest weakness, the dragon roared in pain as it melted down into sand that was carried away by the wind. 

The tall girl took a deep breath as she stood in the spot where the dragon used to be. Her long trench coat swayed from side to side with the wind. Despite being in the center of the powerful surge of water magic, her white blouse and blue pants remained completely dry. 

“Kanan!!” 

You yelled as she ran towards the tall girl who looked at the scene around her. 

“Don’t give me that!” The ponytail girl immediately scolded them. “What are you all doing here?!”

“T-That’s…” You simply looked away without having the guts to face her. 

Riko stared at the girl before her in confusion. She couldn’t feel her body, and her consciousness was close to fading away.

“Riko? Are you okay?”

Riko was suddenly snapped awake. She could hear Chika’s voice. She couldn’t tell when Chika walked towards her, but the orange haired girl now held her body while closely staring at her.

“Chika…”

Riko’s eyes watered. The mix of emotions inside her were close to exploding, and without realizing it, she sank her head into Chika’s chest and allowed herself to cry.

“It’s okay.”

Chika simply hugged her tightly while gently caressing her hair. 

“It’s okay Riko.” 

In that moment silence covered the place except for Riko’s cries which mixed with the lonely sounds of the sea waves.

The long haired girl continued to cry while letting out words of apology and calling out Chika’s name. Eventually after having overexerted herself so much, the long haired girl fell asleep on Chika’s arms. 

“So…” Kanan crossed her arms. “What exactly happened?”

“Well…” Chika and You looked at Kanan and then looked at each other.

With no choice but to explain everything, they told Kanan about meeting Riko, and how she had no memories. They told her about Riko’s Love Gem, how they came here in search for one, and how they ended up fighting multiple dragons. 

“See?” Kanan approached the girls and pulled hard of their cheeks. “This is why I told you not to come here!!”

“Ouch! Wait! Does that mean you knew about the dragons?!” Chika asked as she caressed her now swollen cheek. 

“Of course I did!” Kanan glared at her. “The shop isn’t that far away you know. We’ve had customers having nasty encounters with them so we need to make sure this place is off limits.”

“Kanan.” It was You who stared suspiciously at the ponytail girl this time. “You knew these dragons were weak to water, didn’t you?”

“Maybe...”

Chika and You then looked at each other, and then pointed at Kanan once they finally realized something. 

“So that’s why you are so good at using water magic!! You have been using these dragons to train!!” 

“W-What are you two talking about?” Kanan couldn’t help but to fidget with her fingers as she tried to invent an excuse. “Why would I do something so dangerous?”

You then approached her and gently squeezed the ponytail girl’s arm. 

“Is this why you have such good muscles too?”

“A-Anyway!” Kanan looked away, shook her arm away from You and dodged the question. “Let’s go back.”

“Our boat kind of got wrecked though….” You was scared to admit it, but the fate of the boat wasn’t anything pleasant. She couldn’t help but feel she had failed as a captain. 

“I know, but that’s fine. We have this after all.” 

Kanan then proudly pointed at the shore. The girls turned around, and first saw the wrecked boat they had used to sail to this island. Just next to it, there was a much larger ship, three times its size. This one seemed to be made of some sort of hard steel rather than a wooden boat, and felt a lot more luxurious as well.

“W-Wait! Kanan…”

“What is it You?”

“Isn’t this one of my dad’s ships?”

“It is!”

“Why?”

“A lot happened… sort of.” Kanan seemed hesitant to answer the question and instead pushed both girls towards the ship. “Anyway! Let’s get away from here first, even I won’t be able to fight that many dragons if they keep coming.”

Once inside the ship, there was an inner area full of bedrooms. You wasn’t too surprised as this was a ship she was familiar with, and Chika felt like the rooms in her family’s inn were bigger. 

Deciding it was best to let her rest there, they left Riko in one of the beds, and walked towards the control room with Kanan. 

The ponytail girl pressed a button, and the anchor securing the ship slowly rose up from the sea and back into the ship. The girls started to sail away from the island and back towards the diving shop where they would be now safe.

“So… What’s up?” You had known Kanan for a long time. Even if her serene and relaxed expression never changed, it was clear that something was off. Not to mention suddenly appearing with her father’s ship wasn’t normal. You knew her father was very overprotective of his vessels so why would he lend one to Kanan so easily?

“Ah, that…” Kanan continued to sail the ship and focus on the horizon ahead of her, so she replied without looking at the girls in the eye. “This is kind of sudden, but I need you two to go pack as soon as possible and come back to this ship immediately.”

“Go pack?” Chika tilted her head.

“Yeah… Just get anything important like a toothbrush and change of clothes, make sure to bring it as fast as you can.”

“Sure!” 

Chika simply agreed without questioning it much but You wasn’t so easily convinced. 

“Wait wait!”

“What’s wrong You?”  


“Don’t ask me what’s wrong as if you don’t know!” The gray haired girl retorted. “Why do we have to suddenly start packing?! We don’t do that even when we go sailing with my dad, where are we going?!”

“Don’t worry too much about it, it’s just a small trip, okay?” 

Kanan answered with a smile but the tone in her voice said otherwise. At this point even Chika had no trouble telling that she was acting strangely. 

“Even if you say that…”

“It’s okay You.” Chika placed a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “If Kanan says we should it should be okay, right?”

“Well… you are right. Kanan wouldn’t just make us do that for no reason.”

“Then it’s settled!” Chika smiled cheerfully, but her smile quickly changed into a panicked expression. “My book! I left my book in the wrecked ship! Kanan let’s go back and-!”

“It’s okay.” Kanan then pointed towards the door just behind her. “I have your book. It was all drenched in the wrecked ship so I left it drying in the other room.”

“Kanan!! Thank you!!!” 

Chika tackled and hugged the ponytail girl tightly, making her lose balance and accidentally stir the wheel all the way to the right. The ship started to move in a strange motion and almost started going in circles on the same spot.

“W-W-Wait Chika!!”

“Be careful you two!” 

You quickly grabbed hold of the steering wheel and moved the ship back into the right direction. 

Kanan sighed in relief but You simply glared at her with a pout. 

“Are we going to be okay like this?” The gray haired girl sighed.

The boat continued to sail, and then stopped by the port just next to the diving shop.

“Come to think of it…” Chika stared at Kanan. “Why were you missing earlier? Everything was closed too, it was weird.”

“That’s… some complicated circumstances too. Don’t worry!” 

“Don’t worry you say…” You complained under her breath but Kanan simply smiled awkwardly.

“Anyway! I have to go pick up some stuff so just wait for me here! I’ll be right back!!”

The ponytail girl then ran off on her own.

“Chika… don’t you think Kanan is acting weird?” The gray haired girl asked once both were left alone. 

“I know. It’s like she’s hiding something from us, which she never does. But…”

“But?”

“Well… if it’s Kanan, she must have a good reason. It’s okay because it’s Kanan! So I think we should believe in her.”

“You are right, but…”

“It will be o-kay!”

“I hope so.”

A few minutes later, Kanan returned to the control room. She seemed short of breath as though she had been running around a lot, but she rapidly started sailing again and brought both girls back to Uchiura.

“I will go check on this girl.” Kanan said as Chika and You both got off the ship. “So hurry up. You two have half an hour to come back, okay?”

“J-Just half an hour?!” 

You couldn’t help but feel that was such a ridiculously short time to pack no matter how you saw it.

“That’s twenty nine minutes now.” Kanan crossed her arms. “Now go!”

“Got it!” Chika imitated You’s salute and ran off. 

You sighed and followed Chika after making a salute herself. She was glad she had left a lot of her things in Chika’s house as her own house was a lot more far away, so there was no way she would make it in just thirty minutes. 

Running as fast as they could, they quickly reached Chika’s house.

“I’m home!” Chika yelled the moment she entered but she didn’t get a reply from anyone. 

“It seems like your sisters aren’t home.”

“Huh? That’s weird. I know they are busy with the inn but they are usually here around at this time.”

“It does feel weird…”

You continued to grow suspicious. It was the same as Kanan’s shop earlier. Kanan’s family was missing, and now Chika’s sisters were missing too. To top it off, Kanan had showed up using one of her father’s precious ships. Something wasn’t right at all.

“Come on You, let’s pack!”

“Um… Chika?”

“What is it?”

“Can I make a quick phone call?”

“Go ahead! I’ll be upstairs.”

You nodded and walked towards the phone hanging from the wall on the living room. She dialed her father’s number as she tapped her foot against the floor impatiently. 

The phone started to ring, but no one was picking up.

“Come on, please answer.”

But there was no response other than an automatic recording letting her know her call could not connect.

She continued to try and use the phone several times, but no matter how many times she tried, the call would not connect.

“You! Hurry or we won’t make it!” Chika called out to her from upstairs.

“I’m going!!” You replied and hung up the phone frustrated.

(What is going on?)

Worry spread through her face as she walked towards Chika’s room.

“Chika, what are you doing…?”

You stared at the orange haired girl and her “luggage” which consisted of an orange box filled with mandarin oranges, her lobster plush, and some clothes.

“Packing?”

“Do you really need to bring all those mandarin oranges?”

“Of course I do! They are for good luck!” 

“What about a toothbrush?”

“Oh… I forgot. Anyway! Here! Get packing too!”

She handed You a small and empty orange box.

The gray haired girl realized she didn’t have anything with her to carry her stuff and accepted the box.

As the girls rushed in order to pack their luggage, Kanan decided to check on the mysterious girl that slept in the ship. 

She walked into the room and stared at Riko. Even while she slept, the long haired girl had a pained expression on her face. It was clear the fight had taken a toll on her, and her clothes were also dirty and full of sand. 

“Is this what Chika was talking about?” 

The ponytail girl then directed her attention at the gem around Riko’s neck. It was a gem colored with a dark black color, and it didn’t look like anything Chika had described.

“I saw what this girl did against the dragon so I don’t think Chika was lying but…”

As Kanan spoke her thoughts out loud, the mysterious girl opened her eyes. They were swollen from crying, and it was clear the girl felt lost. She tried looking around, but it seemed like her body was still in a lot of pain. Once her eyes met with Kanan’s violet eyes, the girl finally spoke up.

“You are…?”

The ponytail girl was surprised for a moment, as she didn’t expect for Riko to wake up but then replied after a short pause.

“I’m Kanan, Chika and You’s friend! You must be Riko, correct?”

The long haired girl slowly nodded. It seemed like her memory was foggy on the events that happened after the fight, and she was also having trouble speaking. 

“Are they… okay?” 

“They are fine.” Kanan stated in a reassuring tone. “There’s nothing to worry about, so please rest for a little longer.”

She reached out for Riko’s forehead and gently pushed her back into the bed.

Riko couldn’t bring herself to reply, but once she knew the others were fine, she took the offer to rest longer and closed her eyes.

Kanan covered her with a blanket and quietly walked out of the room. 

(They are fine but…) The ponytail girl was lost in thought as she walked across the ship. (Please hurry, Chika, You. We don’t have enough time.)

While Kanan waited for the girls to return, something else was about to take place in the seaside town of Uchiura.

A figure walked across the empty streets just outside the town’s houses. It was the same person who had seen the girls off when they sailed towards the island with dragons.

“So you made it back.” She spoke to herself while completely ignoring the environment around her. 

It was a short girl whose most prominent feature was her forehead. She wore a black military looking uniform, with a matching black cap, and long white gloves on her hands. 

“I am amused to see you defeated my pets. Maybe I should be a little irritated, but that’s fine.”

In that moment, the girl snapped her fingers and the sound echoed across the empty town.

“Did you hear that?” 

Chika asked as she walked towards the exit of her house followed by You.

“Huh? I didn’t hear anything.”

The gray haired girl stared at her confused. 

Both were walking across the living room while holding orange boxes that had their luggage inside. 

It wouldn’t take them long to leave and make it back to Kanan, but soon after Chika heard the strange noise, something had changed. 

“Is it okay if I make one last call?” You asked just before they left.

Chika nodded, but the moment You picked up the phone she noticed there was no dial tone. 

“Um… Chika, your phone isn’t working.”

“Let me see…”

The orange haired girl checked. She shook the phone around the air and hit it a few times but it still wasn’t working.

“Hm… You use an electric phone, don’t you?” 

You knew a lot of things about Chika’s house too well because she would visit a lot. She walked towards the light switch to turn it on. However, the lights never turned on. 

“Is it a blackout?”

Chika went to check on a different light switch in her house, and tried turning the TV as well but it did not work either. 

“I guess so. Let’s just go Chika. Kanan will be mad if we are late.” 

To her frustration, You gave up trying to contact her father and decided it would be best to just leave. 

The two girls then walked outside the house. Despite being daytime, everything felt quiet and almost eerie. The two of them continued to walk across the streets of the town, and without realizing it they passed by a short girl in military clothes. 

Even if they did not pay attention to her, a grin moved across the girl’s lips, and then she whispered: “It’s time to stop playing around, Miss Sakurauchi.”

Realizing they had taken too long to arrive, Kanan walked towards the deck of the ship to see if she could see the girls in the distance, and yet, the image she saw made her body freeze with terror.

The town of Uchiura was now a sea of burning flames.

And so, their peaceful life had come to an end.


	5. From One to Zero - Part 4

The blue seaside town was now covered with a cape of red as raging fire spread all across.

The moment the ponytail girl witnessed this scene, her body froze with terror. Kanan however knew she didn’t have the leisure to stand around at a moment like this. Clenching her fist, she ran towards the burning town as fast as she could. 

In the meantime, two girls stood in the midst of the flames. The gray haired girl had barely reacted in time the moment a powerful explosion spread across the town. She had let go of the boxes in her hand, and spread out her arms, creating a shield out of magic that enveloped both her and Chika. 

“Chi…ka.” The gray haired girl had difficulty speaking. “Are you okay?”

“S-Somehow… but…what is happening?” 

Chika asked dumbfounded. She had managed to catch You’s luggage mid-air and now held a tower of boxes on her arms. 

“I have no idea, but this has to be magic without a doubt. Still, at this rate everyone in town is…”

“No!” Chika promptly stopped You’s train of thought. “The place was empty, and not even my sisters were home. Maybe they are somewhere else, they are all fine!”

“I hope so. But even so the town is…” You shook her head, trying to follow Chika’s lead and think positively. “No! You are right! Let’s hurry and get to where Kanan is, she’s the only one that can do something about this right now.”

The two continued to try and make their way to the port, and despite not being too far away, moving forward proved incredibly difficult. As the many houses continued to burn down, dark smoke started to spread across the air. Despite being protected inside You’s bubble, it was difficult to look forward and they could still feel the incredible heat reaching their skin.

The orange haired girl couldn’t help but tense up as burning rubble fell next to her feet and all around as they continued to move forward. All she could do was to follow You’s back as they stepped deep within a cloud of smoke. 

Everything went dark, and Chika could feel herself rapidly losing her sense of direction. 

After what felt like an eternity, they made it past the cloud of smoke, and a figure waited for them. 

A short woman with black military clothes was sitting on top of the rubble of a collapsed house. No, the rubble itself had come together and taken the shape of a fancy throne with burning flames coming out of it. Despite this, the girl was clearly unaffected and the fire could not even touch her.

She smiled and stood up the moment the girls came under her field of vision. Her long hair swayed to the side as she stepped forward.

Chika and You both came to a halt the moment they properly noticed the person walking towards them.

“Wait… Chika isn’t that…?”

“?” Chika peeked from behind the tower of boxes on her arms and stared properly at the girl. “Oh! That’s-!!”

“I wasn’t sure because in the pictures of your book she had short hair and looked younger, but that has to be…”

“That has to be her!!” Chika couldn’t contain her excitement. She spoke loud and cheerfully not even caring that the girl in question could hear her clearly. “It’s Tsubasa from A-RISE! They were µ’s rivals!!” 

You smiled awkwardly as she stared at the legendary figure in front of them. Maybe it was because of all the events that had suddenly taken place, but she couldn’t shake away a bad feeling even now.

“Oh?” Tsubasa spoke in a calm manner. “So you’ve heard about me?”

“Of course I have! A-RISE was also amazing and powerful!”

“Then we have a little problem.” 

Even if Tsubasa’s voice was kind and polite, this time there was a clear tone of malice in it. The girl simply snapped her fingers so that her index finger was then pointing at the girls. 

Chika and You didn’t have a single second to react. The flow of time froze and broke down. They had no way to know what happened.

The next thing Chika knew, she was rolling in the sand by the shore not too far away from the ship. She felt as though her entire body was hit by something heavy, and was having trouble grasping for air. 

At the same time, You found herself back inside Chika’s house. What once had been a cozy house where she would often visit her friend, hang out, and even have sleep overs, was now the recreation of a burning hell. 

The gray haired girl struggled to gasp for air as her lungs were suddenly attacked by thick smoke. She wouldn’t even have the time to put herself together so easily, in just seconds she could feel flames already reaching for her clothes. 

And finally, inside the room where the long haired girl slept. A loud noise snapped her awake. It was a pile of boxes that appeared from out of thin air. They fell just by a corner of the room, making the luggage spread all across the floor. 

Not aware of what happened, Kanan ran across the town while searching for the girls.

“Chika!! You!!” She screamed, but there was no response. 

The ponytail girl continued moving deeper into the town. She let out a kick which released a strong current of water. It put away just enough fire to let her through, but it wasn’t nearly enough to take care of the town. 

Kanan clicked her tongue. She could tell the fire was powered by strong magic, because no matter how many times she put away fire to clear her path, it would soon light up again just a few seconds later.

“This can’t be happening.”

“Oh, but it is happening.” 

A soft and polite voice replied to Kanan. 

The moment this voice reached her, the ponytail girl saw her: a long haired woman in military clothes sitting atop a burning throne. 

Kanan clenched her fist tightly. She had no doubts that this was the person who put the town in such a state. 

The ponytail girl’s eyes pierced into the woman’s emerald eyes as anger started to build up.

Tsubasa prepared to snap her fingers and warp Kanan away, but Kanan let out a punch that released an explosive torrent of water. 

The water splashed against Tsubasa with incredible force, but she simply swatted away the attack like getting rid of a small fly. Despite being hit directly with Kanan’s magic, her clothes were completely dry, and her calm expression remained unchanged. 

“That is some strong water magic. I see. You are the one that continued to defeat my dragons, aren’t you?”

“So you are the one that kept releasing all those beasts.”

“I guess so. It’s simple, you just need to do this.”

Tsubasa smiled and opened the palm of her hand.

In an instant, a large dragon had appeared out of thin air flying right towards Kanan. The ponytail girl threw herself to the ground as she was caught off guard. She rolled across the floor to dodge the dragon’s claws, and shot out a blast of water. The dragon was hit and rendered powerless as it turned into sand. 

Tsubasa’s expression did not change. Instead she simply started clapping to congratulate the ponytail girl. “That was great, it’s decided. I’ll have you entertain me for a bit, I won’t get rid of you yet like with those other girls.”

“What did you do with Chika and You?”

“You mean the annoying girl that talks a lot and her bubble friend? Who knows.”

“…”

Kanan felt silent for a moment. 

“Are you upset? I have a few reasons to be upset as well so I can understand that.”

“You…” 

Kanan slowly stepped forward. A blue light of concentrated water magic had started to gather in the palms of her hands, and on her feet.

“You don’t understand anything!!”

Kanan shot forward at an incredible speed. The ponytail girl used a blast of water from beneath her feet to propel herself, and then released a punch towards the woman. 

Tsubasa slowly moved her hand, gracefully catching Kanan’s fist in midair. A blast of water followed the impact, but Tsubasa remained unaffected even as she received the full impact of Kanan’s attack. 

“Why are you so angry? Do you understand why this is happening? None of this would have happened if you weren’t hiding her here.”

“What do you mean?”

The woman with emerald eyes pulled Kanan in closer, glaring right into her violet eyes as she smirked. 

“You are helping the princess run away, and that is a big problem for us.”

“Princess…? What are you-?!”

Kanan wasn’t given a chance to question the woman’s words, and was blasted away by a sudden explosion coming from Tsubasa’s hand.

The ponytail girl used her magic, creating a bed of water that cushioned her fall, and rapidly stood up again.

“Playing fool won’t do much good. After all there was no reason for everyone in town to show such a strong resistance.”

“Everyone in town…” Kanan whispered under her breath. “What did you do with everyone?!”

“They are all dead. Would you feel better if I told you they became food for my dragons? At least they’ll have been more useful that way.”

The ponytail girl fell to her knees. She could feel everything spinning around, and her soul slowly leaving her body. 

“You… can’t be serious.” 

There was a reason this had come like such a strong impact for her. It was something that the other girls were not aware about, and the reason why she had told Chika and You to pack in the first place.

It happened just one night ago. 

“Anyway, you should get going back home. It’s getting late, and you are going to catch a cold. I have to help at the shop for a little longer, so I’ll see you tomorrow!”

Kanan had reassured the girls that went to visit her that evening. Chika seemed to be frustrated as usual after not being able to use any magic at all, and You had tagged along again. She waved at the girls as they left the island on a small wooden boat. Up until that point everything had stayed the same, it was just another day. 

“I guess it’s about time then.” 

Kanan stretched out and stared at the clear sky spreading above her for a few seconds. She moved one last oxygen tank to its proper place and walked inside the cottage. 

An older man sat over a couch as he listened to some old songs on the radio. His face resembled that of his daughter, and his leg was covered with a white cast down to his foot.

“How are you feeling dad?” Kanan asked concerned as she stepped inside.

“Feeling much better now! I should be ready to go in no time!” 

The man had the same reassuring and warm aura that Kanan always had. It wasn’t difficult to tell that they were related.

“That’s good and all but… take it easy okay?”

“Don’t worry too much, I am doing just that.”

“Good!” Kanan smiled and then crossed her arms. “So… should I go take care of that today too?”

“Yes please. After that please go check on everyone for me, I’m sorry for making you do this in my place.”

“That’s fine, that’s fine! I can handle it after all!”

The ponytail girl then left the cottage with confidence and walked towards an old boat that was stopped by the dock. 

She was still wearing her usual diving suit, but Kanan always felt very comfortable in this attire. It reminded her of how much she loved going underwater and it was also easy to move around in it. 

She began to sail the boat towards a small isle just a few minutes away from her shop. She was always used to guiding customers all around the area, so she knew this place like the back of her hand. 

The moment she reached the isle what waited for her wasn’t something any other ordinary person could take on. It was a massive hoard of dragons. 

At least fifteen dragons, all around her size flew around the skies of the isle and let out a roar the moment Kanan approached with her boat. 

“Let’s do this then.” 

The ponytail girl cracked her knuckles and jumped into the isle. She challenged the dragons without an ounce of fear. 

Even though she had taken this job in her father’s stead, Kanan always had very powerful water magic. On top of that she was very athletic. It was hard to tell through her clothes, but she had strong muscles that a regular person couldn’t hope to regularly achieve. 

The ponytail girl loved to combine her physical skill with her magic. The source of all magic, as far as Kanan knew, was always said to be a strange power called Legendary Power. Legendary Power was an incredible force that spread across the world, as well as across each person that lived inside it. 

Concentrating her legendary power on her hand and feet, Kanan shot forward against the dragons. She would jump high into the skies using magic to propel herself, and releasing a barrage of punches and kicks that allowed her magic to explode into bursts of water. 

Every time the dragons were hit by a direct attack, they would dissipate and turn into sand. 

Despite being such incredible beasts, Kanan’s magic was their biggest weakness. The ponytail girl was all too used to fighting them. She remembered how scared she was the very first time. There were situations where the dragons were close to gaining the upper hand. She had managed to escape without any injuries due to sheer luck some other times, but now it was different. Now she was having fun. It was just like working out. She could display her strength as much as she wanted, and let her magic explode without having to worry. 

After a long while, the number of dragons started to decrease, and soon, they stopped attacking her. She couldn’t tell if it was because she had taken care of too many, or if they stopped coming out of their nest because they had fallen asleep.

“Well that’s one job complete.” 

Kanan took a deep breath as sweat rolled down her skin. She slightly unzipped her diving suit to let some fresh air in, and then returned to the boat.

She sailed away, but instead of returning to the diving shop, she took a longer route towards the small port town of Uchiura.

It was already very late at night. She had no way to know but it was already way past midnight. 

The ponytail girl walked through the lonely city at night. At this time usually a few houses would still have a light on, but most of the residents had already gone to sleep. However, this night was different. 

After walking through the lonely town in the middle of the night, Kanan reached a path with tall tropical trees. Walking through the cold and silent night, it was easy for even her to forget she had been fighting deadly dragons just minutes ago. 

Kanan enjoyed the view as the trees around her were illuminated by the moonlight, but she could soon tell this peace wouldn’t last long. 

Once she reached the end of the path, she found herself in the outskirts of the town, just outside a road that led further into Numazu. Usually there would be buses running for people that would like to take this path, but it was different now. Transport had stopped, and not because of it being late at night. 

As Kanan continued to walk forward, she reached a small cabin on the side of the road with its lights on. Kanan knew this place too well and entered the cabin after knocking on the door outside just once. 

“Excuse me.” 

She stepped inside, but was confused to see the place empty. She stopped to think for a moment, but was startled by an odd noise. It was a roar she was all too familiar with. 

The ponytail girl rapidly left the cabin and went towards the place where the noise came from. There she saw something unexpected. 

Hundreds of dragons flew all across the air and magic exploded all around. All kinds of water magic spread across the air. Despite the magic shooting down dragons left and right, they continued to multiply. 

Kanan jumped in, releasing a blast of water that took care of a wide amount of dragons. Once she was closer by, she could see the source of all that magic. It was the citizens of Uchiura.

“Oh Kanan, you came at a great time.” 

A man spoke. He was dressed in white captain clothes, with many golden badges attached to his chest. The man waved his hand, releasing a water wave that took down all the dragons coming for him. 

“W-What’s going on?” Kanan asked. 

“That’s what I would like to know. We were patrolling as usual to take care of the monsters here and there when dragons started spawning out of nowhere. And no matter how many we take down, there is no end to them.”

“Let me take them on. I used to spar with a certain duo that was always stronger than these dragons, this is nothing.”

The ponytail girl cracked her knuckles ready to fight, but she was immediately stopped by the captain.

“Stop.”

He put his hand on Kanan’s shoulder and grasped it tightly. 

“I would love your help, but this intense amount of dragons isn’t something we can overlook. Even with all of us fighting, there is no telling for how long we can keep it up.”

“Then what should I…?”

“Evacuate. Take my best ship, pack your things and take my daughter and her friend somewhere safe. This is an order.”

“Evacuate?! Where should we go? This is very sudden. What about the town then?”

“There is more going on that you think.” He glanced at Kanan, and looked into her eyes with a serious look. “This is an order.”

Being faced by the incredible pressure of the captain, Kanan simple lowered her head and nodded.

“Don’t worry.” He changed his expression into a reassuring smile. “It will be fine, and I will take care of everything. Go prepare everything you need and then go, I’m counting on you.” 

The captain then created another wave of water, taking care of the beasts in Kanan’s way and clearing a path for her. He followed this by giving her a salute just like the ones his daughter would do all the time. 

The ponytail girl clenched her fist and walked away as the villagers continued to fight the countless beasts. 

That was the last time Kanan saw them all. 

At that time she believed it would be okay. She believed that they would take care of it. After all, they had been protecting the town all this time. They had been protecting not only the town of Uchiura, but all of Numazu. 

Kanan thought it was a simple outbreak of monsters. She didn’t think much of it. 

But now, everything changed. Now an incredibly powerful enemy that could summon them at will stood before her. 

_“They are all dead.”_ Tsubasa’s words resounded in her head. It frustrated her and made her body fill up with panic. But at the same time, something else filled her with incredible anger. 

_“At least they’ll have been more useful that way.”_

Kanan clenched her fists with so much force that her nails were starting to pierce into her skin.

“You can’t be serious.”

The ponytail girl slowly stood up. She glared at Tsubasa with pure hatred.

“You can’t be serious!!”

Tsubasa didn’t give her any response and simply smiled. She didn’t flinch despite the image of Kanan running towards her with incredible fury reflecting in her eyes. 

“More useful that way?! Do you even know what everyone in this town has gone through?!” 

The ponytail girl closed into Tsubasa and launched a punch charged with magic right against her face.

“You don’t know anything at all!! Everyone has been always fighting to keep this place safe! Everyone has been doing this for us! My father… he even got injured just to protect us and yet!!”

She released another punch, and another one, and another one. Without being able to contain her fury, Kanan simply released a massive barrage of merciless attacks. Everytime her fist connected, a powerful blast of water would follow. This attack was powerful enough to end someone’s life, but Kanan didn’t stop.

“Is that all you had to say?” 

Tsubasa spoke calmly as Kanan continued her attack. Despite receiving Kanan’s powerful fists against her face, she was completely unscathed and the magic had no effect either. 

The woman in the military uniform sighed and then grabbed Kanan’s fists with ease. 

“I already told you, didn’t I? None of this would have happened if you had just handed over the princess.”

And with a swift and elegant movement, Kanan was hurled up into the air. 

The ponytail girl fell and landed on the solid ground as the fire around her continued to spread further. 

“Kanan!!”

The voice of the gray haired girl reached her. 

You had finally managed to reach this scene once more. She was limping with one foot, and parts of her clothes were burned, but she had still managed to surround herself with her own magic as a shield. 

“You… get away from here.”

Kanan slowly stood up. Blood was coming out of her lip and her arms. She had taken very heavy damage from the last attack, but the sheer anger running across her body helped her stand up once more. 

You looked at the damaged Kanan, and then looked at the woman who stared at them with a grin on her face. Adding up what happened earlier, the situation was all too clear for the gray haired girl. 

“I’m not going anywhere. I’m not about to abandon you here.”

You stepped in front of Kanan as she glared at the enemy before them. 

“I’m surprised, you actually made it back.” 

Tsubasa simply looked amused. 

“Here is your reward.”

She opened the palm of her hand, making a dragon pop out of thin air, which flew towards You at full speed. 

The gray haired girl stepped forward and clapped her hands together. She remembered the time Riko had reinforced her magic to turn her bubbles into bullets that could take down the dragons. She could clearly remember the feeling of having her magic boosted up so much.

At that moment You wasn’t giving it much thought. She didn’t doubt whether or not she could do it. The adrenaline rushed to her head, and she released a barrage of bubble bullets that shot down that dragon in an instant. 

The gray haired girl stared at her hands as the dragon dissipated into sand. A small flash of confidence followed her. 

“Kanan, let’s do this.”

“It’s no use You! None of my attacks are even touching her!”

“I don’t think that’s the case. I need to confirm something.”

“Oh?” Tsubasa tilted her head as she listened to You’s remarks. 

The woman in black clothes didn’t move as a barrage of bubble bullets flew her way. She let the attack hit, and again, it made no damage. Right afterwards, she snapped her fingers, releasing a blast of fire that shot against You. 

Kanan quickly jumped in, she countered the fire with her water, and pushed You away. The fire dissipated, but seconds later became lit again and flew towards a burning building in the background. 

“See?!” Kanan looked at You who stared intently at the scene before her.

“No.” You shook her head. “She is ought to be using some kind of magic as a shield. You can’t use different kinds of magic at the same time, so…”

“I see. I got it!” 

Kanan immediately understood You’s train of thought. 

“Can you keep going?” The ponytail girl asked as she rolled up the sleeves of her clothes.

“Of course I can. A captain is always ready!” You gave her a salute and both stepped forward. 

Tsubasa didn’t take much action and simply stared at the girl charging against her. 

You released another barrage of bullets, making no damage. Tsubasa prepared to release an attack, but the moment she snapped her fingers, she was hit by a blast of water. 

“That means she can’t defend and attack at the same time.” Kanan smiled as she let out of all her power. An immense blast of water with incredible pressure shot against Tsubasa, making direct impact.

The attack was so strong and spread so far, that all of the fire in the area was put away in the path where the attack had landed, raising a large cloud of steam. 

Both girls let out a sigh of relief, as the black military cap fell to the ground from beneath the curtain of steam.

“That wasn’t bad.” 

A voice took away all their relief in an instant. 

“But now my hat is all dirty, I’ll have you lick it clean.”

The woman walked forward from behind the curtain. 

“This can’t be…” You stepped back. 

“How did she…?” Kanan didn’t understand what was happening either.

“Hm? You assumed I was a fire magic user, didn’t you?” 

Tsubasa flicked her fingers once more, shooting down both girls into the ground with a small explosion. She couldn’t help but laugh as she looked down at them.

“This is the last time you’ll see it, so I’ll explain it to you. This isn’t fire magic, it’s void magic.”

“Void… magic…?” Kanan was confused. 

She was aware that there were different kinds of magic that existed thanks to Legendary Power. The most common being water, wind, fire, and earth magic. While there were different effects that could be created with them such as thunder, something like void magic was unheard of. 

“You girls are a lot more ignorant that I thought. Your friend there experienced it, so she should be familiar with it at least.” She stared at You and then lifted her hand up. She snapped her fingers and You was suddenly transported just behind Tsubasa. “Void magic. The power to warp. This is how I call the dragons, I warp them here. This is why you can’t hit me, all your magic and impact of your attacks are warped somewhere else. What about the fire? Do you know why it regenerates no matter how many times you put it down? Because I’m warping it from hell.” 

Kanan and You couldn’t fully understand what she just said. It all sounded more like an absurd joke to them. There was no way that all of this was real, and yet, it was happening before their very eyes.

“It doesn’t really matter to me whether you know this or not. All you learn by knowing this is that you have no way to defeat me.” Tsubasa then sat back on her throne. She warped You to her feet and stepped on the girl who yelled as the woman’s foot stabbed into her back. “Now that you understand that, how about you behave and hand over the princess already?”

Not long before this took place, Chika slowly stood up. She had suddenly rolled across the sand without knowing how she appeared there. 

“Ouch… What just…?” 

She looked around as she caressed her head. The first thing to catch her attention was the large ship that Kanan had borrowed from You’s father. She realized all the boxes she was holding were missing, but she didn’t give it much thought. 

At the moment there was something much more important. Standing at the shore, she got a much better look of the collapsed town as it drowned in flames. 

Realizing her best choice was to go and call for Kanan, Chika ran towards the ship, but the one to receive her wasn’t Kanan. It was Riko. The long haired girl stood just above the deck of the ship. Her legs and arms started to tremble once her eyes met with the scene before her. 

“Riko!!” Chika called out to her.

The moment she heard an unexpected voice, Riko was snapped back into reality. She stared at the orange haired girl standing just outside the boat, and quickly rushed outside as well. 

Riko’s body was still badly damaged, she had difficulty moving too fast, and every time she stepped forward pain spread through her legs. 

“Chika… You are okay.” 

Riko approached the orange haired girl with teary eyes. The moment she had seen the town drowning in flames, she had seriously assumed that Chika had met her end inside. 

Chika nodded and smiled at the girl. “I am fine! But where is Kanan? Have you seen You as well?”

“Eh? Kanan was here earlier but I wasn’t able to find her anymore, maybe she…”

“She totally saw that and went to help! You and I got separated, so she must be somewhere in the town too. Let’s go find them!” Chika stared to run towards the town.

Riko couldn’t help but feel uneasy at the thought of the girls in danger while stuck in the middle of the chaos. She nodded and followed the orange haired girl without hesitating. 

The two ventured across the decaying town. Riko could feel her heart pounding fast, and was starting to get anxious. She couldn’t tell if she was feeling dizzy because of her fear or because of all the smoke surrounding the place. 

(What am I…. doing?)

Riko couldn’t help but to question herself. She would have never imagined herself willingly jumping into a situation like this before. She was not even sure of what she could do. But just the thought of her friends suffering while stuck somewhere between the flames pained her heart. Just that thought alone made her move forward even now. 

And then, they reached the center of this incident. Before they could realize it, Chika and Riko stood before Tsubasa.

The first thing they could notice is how the woman in black clothes was stepping over You who lied on the floor without being able to move. Tsubasa grinned as she rested her head with a hand on her chin, and using her other hand, she pulled of Kanan’s ponytail, holding the girl up while barely conscious. 

Chika was not even able to react to this, as she was blown away by an explosion with a snap of Tsubasa’s fingers.

“Hello Princess. How are you doing?” Tsubasa spoke in a cheerful tone.

“W-What have you done?!” 

Riko responded in panic as she ran towards Chika to check on her. As she helped the orange haired girl get up, the long haired girl couldn’t help but to glare at Tsubasa with disgust in her face. 

“Chika… get away from here!” Kanan tried screaming but she was hurled against the ground with incredible force. 

Riko stepped forward, holding the pendant around her neck, but that was when she realized something terrible. The gem had changed into a dark color not so long ago. She could not use it. 

“Why do you look so upset?” Tsubasa stood up, this time stepping on Kanan as she walked forward. “This wouldn’t have happened if you didn’t decide to run all the way here to begin with.”

Tsubasa smiled as she walked towards Riko, but something made her stop for just an instant. It was a small thud against her body. It was Chika, who had gathered her strength to try and tackle down Tsubasa, but it was no use.

“What? Do you want to fight too?”

With another snap of her fingers, Chika was blasted down into the floor once more. 

The orange haired girl screamed as her body rolled across the ground, but it wouldn’t be enough to take her down.

“I don’t know why you are doing this.” Chika spoke. “But µ’s didn’t save the world for you to be doing things like these!!” 

“µ’s? Save the world? What are you talking about? Is it because you live in such an isolated town? Do you think everything is nice and colorful out there?” 

Tsubasa then stared at Kanan and pulled her up from her ponytail. 

“Hey, if you were beating my dragons, that means you are with them right? Those villagers that were trying to protect this place. That means you should know the truth very well, how about you tell your dumb friend over there?”

“I’m not-!” Kanan tried to refuse but was shut down by Tsubasa who slammed her against the floor. 

“I don’t think you understood.” She sank her foot deep into Kanan’s back multiple times. “I’m ordering you to speak.”

But Kanan continued to refuse. She simply remained quiet as she took the damage. No matter what, she didn’t want to break Chika’s dreams.

“Fine then.” Tsubasa kicked Kanan’s body away. “I’ll just tell you. There is no such as a world savior. The world is currently in a horrible, decayed state. Life is dying, and wars are breaking out left and right. Your friend here and some villagers seem to have been protecting this town in the background. That is the only reason you’ve had it so easily until now, and as you can see, that much is over now. There is no saving for this world anymore.”

Tsubasa’s words pierced Chika’s heart. 

“Isn’t that right Princess?” 

Tsubasa directed her works at the long haired girl. But Riko was unable to speak. She simply clenched her fist and bit her lip. 

“I don’t care about anything you have to say.” 

The orange haired girl responded, refusing to believe in her words. Instead, she charged at Tsubasa once more.

“Is tackling and punching all you can do?” Tsubasa yawned as she dodged Chika’s attacks with ease. “Why don’t you show me some of your magic? At least keep me a little entertained.”

Once she finished this sentence, she called another small explosion, blasting Chika down. 

The orange haired girl was in incredible pain. Blood was pouring out of many parts of her bruised body, but even then, she slowly started getting up again.

“I… have no magic.”

The orange haired girl spat out the statement she hated the most and charged towards Tsubasa again.

“Chika! Stop this!!”

Riko tried to get a hold of the girl and stop her from getting herself hurt any further but it was no use. Chika had already ran towards Tsubasa at full speed once more.

“No magic? Hah, so you are just a zero.”

She shot Chika down again while smiling to herself.

“It’s not even that complicated. If those who can use magic in this world are a one, a plus, then you are just a zero. You are just a regular and powerless person, just a useless existence that can’t amount to anything.”

Chika did not respond. 

The orange haired girl felt too many emotions exploding within her at the same time. She was angry, she felt frustrated, but above all she felt sad.

Tsubasa did not show any care towards Chika, or her attempts at fighting. She decided it was time to end it. With a snap of her fingers, Chika was simply transported away, high into the sky. 

Riko rushed to her aid, rapidly releasing some wind magic to cushion the fall, but her magic was stopped midway. The reason for this was Tsubasa. The woman in black clothes suddenly held Riko’s hair and pulled her closer with a lot of force. 

Not being able to get cushioned properly, Chika’s body slammed against the ground and the sound of a resounding impact spread through the area. 

Kanan and You struggled and screamed, crawling through the floor to go and aid Chika, but they were too damaged and barely clinging to their consciousness. 

“Now, how about we go back?” Tsubasa slammed Riko into the ground and stepped on her head. “This time I will make thoroughly sure you are not able to escape again.” 

“If that’s what it’ll take for you to leave them alone, go ahead and take me away.”

Riko did not fight back. She simply decided to accept her fate as long as she could save her friends.

“Now that’s a good girl.” 

Tsubasa then brought her fingers together, ready to let out another snap. This was the way she activated her void magic, magic that allowed her to warp. With this, it would take her no effort to take Riko away in an instant. With this, everyone’s efforts had been for nothing.

“No.”

But a voice stopped her.

“You can’t do that Riko.”

It was the orange haired girl. 

Despite the heavy damage on her body, despite all the emotions exploding at the same time, Chika slowly stood up. 

The orange haired girl stood up and glared at Tsubasa.

“Fine then.” Tsubasa sighed. “If you want to die so badly I’ll give you a present.”

She snapped her fingers and a large ball of dark fire floated above her hand. The fire started to absorb most of the fire that burned through the city, allowing the ball to grow into a much larger size.

“This is fire warped directly from hell. Once you get hit with it, it will never stop burning. Not even if you are reduced to ashes. It will burn down your very soul for eternity.” 

Once Chika got hit with such an attack, there would be no turning back. 

But even then, she stepped forward.

“Chika don’t do it!!” Riko screamed.

Kanan and You poured every last ounce of strength to get up and go towards Chika, but at this rate, they wouldn’t make it. 

Chika clenched her fist and gritted her teeth. She ran towards Tsubasa while overcoming the very fear of death. 

“Goodbye.” 

Tsubasa waited for Chika to be close enough so she could not dodge the attack, and simply hurled the ball of hellfire towards her. 

Chika launched a punch forward, making direct contact with it. 

Time froze over, and the flow of the very world stopped. 

In that moment, the fire completely vanished into thin air as the noise of space itself being distorted resonated. 

“If I am a zero.” Chika whispered.

“W-What did you do?!” Tsubasa’s eyes opened wide in panic. She could not tell what happened, and she did not have enough time to think. 

Chika continued moving forward, and her fist sank deep into Tsubasa’s gut. This time, she was not able to warp away the attack, and received the full impact of Chika’s punch. 

“Then I will reduce everything from one to zero!”

Chika stated, putting her full weight on her attack, and sending Tsubasa flying away until she crashed against her throne. 

The very throne collapsed over her, and in that moment, all the fire that remained across the town vanished at once. 

“Chika… what did you…?” Riko stared in shock at the orange haired girl.

You and Kanan rapidly ran towards the girls, helping Riko up from the ground. 

Chika however, did not have an answer for them. She simply stared at her own hands in shock without being able to fully process what just happened. 

The girls then jumped startled as something had started to move beneath the rubble from the throne.

Tsubasa crawled out, and kneeled down into the floor. She started to cough and was having trouble catching her breath. 

“Everyone… listen to me.” Tsubasa spoke. There was something different in the tone of her voice. It was calm as always, but this time there was a hint of kindness in it. “You have to get out of here.”

“What are you talking about…?”

Riko questioned her without thinking. Her sudden shift in attitude was strange, and there was no telling if it was a trap.

“Hurry… I don’t… have enough time.” Tsubasa fell down to the ground, tightly grasping her chest with her hand. She screamed in pain as a black aura slowly started to envelop her body. “Hurry and… go before it takes over again… Hurry and find them. You have to find….”

Her sentence was cut midway as harsher pain enveloped her body. 

“Let’s go!” Kanan yelled at the girls. 

There was no telling whether it was a trap or not, but it was clear that if they were to escape Tsubasa this was the best chance. The other girls nodded, but Chika couldn’t help but to silently stare at Tsubasa. Something felt wrong. 

Kanan and Riko both held Chika one each side while helping stand, and then they started running away and towards the ship as fast as they could. 

They were getting close to the port, but escaping wouldn’t come without a price. 

Tsubasa’s screams of pain became every time louder. In an instant, the fire covering the city was ignited once again, and a giant looming figure appeared. A dark figure with a humanoid form and red eyes followed them at a high speed. The figure was covered by hellfire, and let out disturbing screams that sounded like Tsubasa’s voice mixed with a strange distortion. 

The girls ran as fast as they could but the figure was starting to close in on them. 

Not too far from reaching the ship, You fell down. The other girls rapidly turned around but had no time to react. 

You simply closed her eyes tightly, realizing she couldn’t escape anymore.

But the figure did not reach her.

“What are you giving up for? Run!!” 

A familiar voice reached You’s ears. It was the voice of a legendary captain. 

The man wearing a captain uniform with many badges pinned to it used all his strength to grab the dark figure by its arms and hold it back. 

“F-Father…?”

“Run! It’s an order! You have to get out of here!”

The gray haired girl rapidly stood up and moved towards the other girls but the figure was slowly breaking away from the Captain’s grasp.

The moment this happened the girls hesitated for a moment, but a new voice would wake them up again.

“Chika!” A woman with short and darker orange hair appeared, helping the captain hold back the strange creature. “What are you standing there for? Get away from here!”

“You and your friends need to get out of here this instant. It’s going to be okay!” Another girl with long hair joined in. 

“Shima! Mito!” Chika called out her sister’s names. 

Even with the three people holding it back, the strange creature continued to force its way forward while letting out disturbing screams.

But despite the figure’s incredible strength, it would not hold back the true spirit of Numazu. In an instant, more and more of the townspeople reached the scene, all holding back the beast.

“Don’t just stand there! You have to go!” 

“Go while you can!”

“We’ll hold this demon back! Get going!”

“Leave this in ours hands!”

“We’ll always have your backs! You don’t have to worry!”

Kanan’s eyes teared up the moment she realized everyone was still alive. 

“Y-You are all…”

“Of course we are alive!” The old man who usually worked at the port replied. “Some dragons wouldn’t be enough to take us down!”

But as they all combined their efforts, the hellfire covering the beast slowly started to spread towards their bodies. 

“Wait! At this rate you are all-!” Chika screamed but her voice was drowned by the voices of her sisters.

“Who do you think we are?! Don’t underestimate us! Just go!!” “Go Chika! We will be okay!”

“But-!!”

“Chika! We have to go!!” 

The orange haired girl attempted to run towards her sisters was stopped by Riko who held her. Despite Chika’s struggle, she couldn’t let the townspeople’s efforts be wasted like this.

And then, one last familiar voice joined in. 

“Kanan! You have to take care of them! So keep going this instant!”

It was Kanan’s father, who despite his injuries had joined in to give them this chance. 

Kanan was silent, and simply turned around, giving her back to the townspeople and facing the other girls.

“Let’s go.”

The ponytail girl spoke in a cold tone. 

“But Kanan-!” 

Chika refuted, but Kanan simply stared at her. Chika found herself unable to say anything, and stopped struggling once she looked into Kanan’s face with tears streaming down her eyes. 

“Let’s go.” 

She repeated once again with a shaky voice. 

Giving one last glance at the townspeople, and with a parting salute from the legendary captain, the girls boarded the ship. 

Chika and Riko stood atop the dock of the ship while You rushed towards the control room. However, someone was missing. 

Kanan didn’t board the ship. Instead, she made sure all the girls were inside, and then stepped out. 

“Kanan! What are you-?!” 

Chika yelled at her once she saw the girl’s figure just outside the ship. She saw the figure of the ponytail girl giving her back to her. She saw her ready to jump back into the scene where fire spread across the land.

“It’s okay, Chika.” The ponytail girl spoke. “Please take care.”

“Kanan!” Chika jumped from atop the deck.

Riko hurried and grabbed Chika form her waist, preventing her from falling, and Chika barely managed to grab a hold of Kanan’s clothes with her hands.

In that instant, the ship became shrouded by a golden glow. The glow spread across the girls, and with Chika’s hand as a link, the glow spread through Kanan’s body as well. 

An energetic and powerful voice spoke into their heads as the flow of time itself halted. 

“Go now! Your heart is in the right place, so as long as you remain like this, you can save the world!”

With a powerful flash of light, the girls, as well as the ship itself had completely vanished.

The voice spoke one last word into the now empty ocean that contrasted the sea of fire next to it. 

“Fight!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I would like to thank you for reading the story all the way here so far. 
> 
> We have finally reached the end of the first arc: From One to Zero. I hope that it has been a good experience so far. 
> 
> I believe I can now say that this is the point where their adventure will truly start, so I will appreciate it if you can support Chika and her friends and accompany them through this story. 
> 
> Since we got a new character like Tsubasa showing up, I will be updating the character tags for this story probably by Monday. I think I will follow this pattern for every time a new character makes an appearance.
> 
> And last I would like to mention that even if I haven’t really replied to your comments so far, I have read every single one of them and I truly appreciate them as well as your kudos. Thank you a lot for your support, I’ll see you again next week!


	6. Advent

It was now early in the afternoon, and the warm rays of the sun infiltrated a rainforest through the large cape of tall trees that covered it. 

A young girl walked through the forest that expanded far and wide before her. She walked slowly to make sure she wouldn’t trip with the many vines that were tangled across the floor. 

She continued to move onward while happily humming a song to herself. The girl had short hair of a bright red color tied up into two pigtails, and her aqua colored eyes matched with the greenery that enveloped her. 

In contrast to the colors of the forest, she wore a uniform-like blue jacket. It had short sleeves, golden stripe decorations, and a pink ribbon on the front with a golden star hanging from her pocket. Her skirt matched the color of her jacket, and her white gloves matched with the color of her white hat. There was a golden medal with the image of an anchor engraved on it on top of the hat. 

Despite being in the middle of such a large forest, she walked without a worry in the world until she reached an area with much larger trees. The trees did not only grow in side, but they had grown so close to each other that it felt as though they sealed off the area that went deeper into the forest. 

The red haired pigtail girl stared at them for a moment and then nodded to herself. 

“It’s here!” She spoke in a tiny and yet cheerful voice. 

The girl walked closer and placed the palms of her hands against the trees. The moment she performed this action, a spark of a golden light illuminated the forest for just a second. Once the light dissipated, she removed her hands, and immediately afterwards, the trees started to move. 

The trees simply moved as if obeying her orders, creating a clear path that would take her deeper into the forest. 

Once she stepped in, she could feel the grass beneath her feet grow a lot more humid, and she could even feel a bit of water splashing up with every step. Once she had gone much further in, the trees moved back to their usual position. 

It didn’t take the girl too long before her eyes met with something in the middle of the path. It was a tall wooden bungalow that lied hidden deep within the forest. 

Without letting go of her cheerful attitude, she walked towards the main entrance to the building. It was a large wooden door with a few flowers decorating it. Taking a closer look, all of the entrance was decorated by many different colorful flowers that couldn’t be found normally anywhere else in the forest. 

Once the girl knocked on the door, she could hear the sound of steps rushing towards the entrance. 

“What is the password?”

She could hear a familiar voice coming from the other side of the door. 

“Zurabesty!” The red haired girl spoke without hesitation. 

Seconds later the door opened, letting her in. 

“How did it go, Ruby?” 

The same voice asked once she stepped inside. This time the voice was coming from a short girl who stood inside the building. She had long chestnut hair that fell behind her back and honey colored eyes. She wore similar clothes as the red haired girl, with the exception of her ribbon being of yellow color, and not wearing a hat on top of her head. 

“It went well! My sister took care of everything, and I brought back what we needed.”

Taking a better look at the area inside the building, it was an old building filled with towers of books. There were books everywhere, and on such a high amount that it may have been impossible to put them on shelves. 

The two girls walked past the large towers of books and into a room further in. This time the room was much different. There was a whiteboard attached to the wall with some writing on it, an old fridge on the corner of the room, and a large round wooden table in the middle with many more books stacked on top. 

“So it means it’s finally here…” This time the brunette girl’s voice became low and serious. “You brought that thing…”

“I did! I will set it up right now!” 

Ruby then walked closer to the round table. She looked happy and relaxed, almost as if she was used to living in this place. 

“W-Wait!” 

The brunette girl suddenly stopped her as Ruby started putting away the books that were on top of the table. 

“What is it Maru?”

“D-Do you have to put it there?”

“Is there a problem?” Ruby tilted her face confused. 

“Not really…”

“Then I’ll keep going!” Ruby smiled. “I have to clean up some space down here… too…”

Her voice trailed off as she suddenly leaned in and looked under the table. On an unexpected turn of events, Ruby froze up for a few seconds as she met with a pair of bright violet eyes that stared from inside the darkness. 

“P-Pigyah!!!” 

Ruby couldn’t help but jump up as she let out a loud squeal. 

“W-W-W-What was that… r-right under the table?!”

She quickly ran and hid behind the short girl who simply let out a sigh. 

“This is why I told you that wasn’t a good place to hide, zura.”

“Kukuku…” A voice laughed from within the table. It was a deep voice with an aura full of darkness. “Foolish Zuramaru I am-”

“It’s Hanamaru.” The short girl casually interrupted the voice without giving too much thought to it. 

“Anyway!” The voice let out a scream, this time changing its pitch into a much lighter voice. “Cough. Anyway.” And soon enough, it went back to the deep voice. 

“M-M-Maru…? I-Is it a ghost?”

Ruby on the other hand, continued to hide while scared and confused about the current situation. 

“Ghost?” The voice spoke in a mocking tone. “Such a weak existence isn’t even close as to compare with a being as powerful as me.”

“Then…” Ruby thought out loud. “A zombie?”

“It’s not a zombie!” The voice yelled in its lighter tone again.

This time it seemed like whoever was hiding under the table had tried to stand up unconsciously, and a loud thud resounded as they hit their head against the table. The impact had been so loud that Ruby and Hanamaru both closed their eyes unconsciously the moment it happened. 

“…”

And then there was only silence.

“Don’t worry Ruby.” Hanamaru reassured her with a smile and then kneeled down. “It’s just a wild animal.”

The brunette then went under the table and casually pulled out a figure with relative ease. 

The figure she had pulled out was a young girl with dark blue hair that fell behind her back, a bun tied to the side, and violet eyes. Unlike Ruby and Hanamaru, she wore a long sleeved white blouse, with a black skirt, and a purple cape. 

At the moment it seemed like the girl was too busy dealing with the pain on top of her head to struggle against Hanamaru pulling her out of the table. 

“T-That’s a wild animal…?” Ruby spoke in a tone full of disbelief. 

“It is, Zura!”

“I’m not!!” The girl quickly stood up while trying to endure the pain, and then switched into her deeper voice while placing her hand in front of her face and taking up a strange pose. “Listen well mortal, my name is Yohane the fallen angel chosen to bring the end to this world.”

“…”

Ruby stared at her in silence for a few seconds until she finally spoke up.

“Ruby didn’t see anything.”

She then moved towards the books on the table, and started putting them away. She continued doing so without paying any attention to the girl who had frozen on the spot while retaining the strange pose. 

“Yoshiko...” Hanamaru simply stared at her while trying to contain her laughter. 

“It’s Yohane!”

“Sure sure. Let’s calm down for a bit, zura.”

Hanamaru then reached for a black feather stuck on top of Yoshiko-

“It’s Yohane!”

She then reached for a black feather stuck on top of Yohane’s head and pulled it out. The moment she did this, the girl’s expression changed into a calmer one. 

“F-Fine then!” She spoke in her light voice. 

“Much better, zura!”

“You say that but…” 

Yohane then slowly turned around as she stared at Ruby who continued to put away books with an empty look in her eyes. On top of that, the red haired girl continued to murmur under her breath “Ruby didn’t see anything. Ruby didn’t see anything.” repeatedly. 

And then, Ruby slowly turned around, and finally snapped in an instant.

“M-Maru?! W-What is this person doing inside the headquarters?! My sister is going to kill us!! She will kill us!!”

“That’s okay Ruby. If Dia asks, we can just tell her we found a wild animal.”

“That’s not the issue here!!” Both Ruby and Yohane retorted at the same time.

“Zura… You actually agreed on something.”

“Wait a second…” Yohane then came to a quick realization. “You say your name is Ruby?”

The red haired pigtail girl simply nodded. 

“And you mentioned a sister named Dia…”

The red haired pigtail girl nodded once more. 

“D-Don’t tell me…” Yohane slowly stepped back. “D-Don’t tell me you are one of the Kurosawa sisters! Are you the younger sister of the famous Birthstone Alchemist?!” 

And then… the red haired girl simply nodded one last time. 

“…”

Yohane walked towards Hanamaru and grabbed the feather that was in her hands. 

“Now if you will excuse me…” Yohane slowly put the feather back into her bun, instantly changing the expression in her face and the tone of her voice. “You will never get the fallen angel!! You can’t catch me!!”

She ran away as she yelled. Not caring whether or not the window was open, she simply jumped through it as the sound of shattering glass resounded.

“O-Ow!!”

She let out a yell as a loud thud could be heard outside. 

“Ahem… you will never get me!!!”

She yelled while running away as far as possible.

“Can we pretend that didn’t happen…?” Hanamaru asked in a sweet and mischievous tone of voice.

Ruby then simply walked towards the window, placing the palm of her hands against the remaining frames. With a golden spark of light, the shattered glass all started moving back up and coming together, in seconds the window was back to normal. 

“Can we pretend what didn’t happen?”

“…Zura.”

The two girls then worked together in order to clean up the space around the table. Once they were done, after looking through some books, Ruby had grabbed some specific books and placed them on the table while opened. 

They had been placed in such way that you could trace the outline of a star with them, and then, she pulled a small cube out of her pocket. 

The cube was a small and metallic cube, which she then placed in the center.

Once everything was set in place Ruby took a deep breath and asked: “Ready?”

Hanamaru stared at her with a serious expression in her face and gulped before replying. “Ready.”

Ruby nodded once she received a response and placed her hands on top of the desk with a lot of force. A powerful spark of golden light illuminated the room and focused on the center of the table. It only took a few seconds for the light to fade away. What had been a simple empty table was now the home for a large high technology computer-like device. 

It had at least three screens which were all currently turned off. A large keyboard spread in front of it with a lot of different buttons, seemingly for very specific functions. And a large box where everything was plugged into appeared under the table.

“T-T-This is…”

Hanamaru stared at the device before her with sparkles on her eyes.

“W-Wait Maru.”

Ruby then walked to the other side of the table and plugged in the device into an electric outlet by the wall. 

Once that was done, Ruby pressed the power button, and the screens turned on as the box below started to make some noises. 

“I-I-It’s…!! It’s!!”

And to add up to Hanamaru’s shock, images then came up in the screens. Two of them showed a map of the area with a lot of detail. The map in question had some red dots pinpointing some exact locations, while the last one showed footage from just outside the bungalow. 

“It’s the future zuraaaaaaaa!!!!”

Ruby couldn’t bring herself to say anything and simply smiled by seeing the face of joy her friend had. 

“C-Can I touch it…?”

“Sure! Just be careful not to…”

“…Zura.”

Ruby was not able to finish her sentence, once Hanamaru had pressed one of the buttons in the keyboard, there was a loud beeping alarm, and then, the red dots in the map all disappeared.

“Not to press the emergency button that deletes the… Love Gem locations…”

Ruby finished her sentence as she stared into the distance for a few seconds.

“…?”

Hanamaru tilted her head confused as she slowly realized what just happened.

“…”

“D-D-Did I just…?”

“R-Ruby didn’t see anything!!!!” The red haired girl simply covered her own eyes. 

“R-R-Ruby what do we do?!” Hanamaru ran towards the red haired girl, shaking her back and forth.

“...”

“Ruby?”

“…Maru…”

“Zura?”

“D-Do you think at least heaven is a nice place…?”

“Don’t give up just like that!”

“Maybe they have cute animals and candy… Ruby is definitely going to heaven, right?”

“Ruby…”

But in that moment, something else would grab their attention. 

A loud ringing noise resounded all across the room, and a blue dot started to flash across the screen.

Seconds later, the dot stopped and simply remained on the screen.

“W-W-W-What is going on now?!” Hanamaru screamed thinking she probably did something wrong again.

“I-I-I don’t know!!” Ruby panicked just from seeing Hanamaru freaking out.

The location of the dot in the map wasn’t too far away from the place where both girls currently were. 

Going deeper into the forest, outside the area that hid the secret base, a large ship had suddenly landed. 

“Ouch…” 

The orange haired girl groaned. 

You and Riko were lying on top of her in a pile above the deck of the ship, almost as if they had fallen from above. 

“S-Sorry!”

Riko rapidly stood up while You simply rolled away to the side.

“What happened…?” 

You asked as she stared at the green roof made from the leaves and extending branches from the rainforest’s trees. 

“I don’t know…” Riko answered in a tired tone as she tried looking around. “The last thing I remember is us being on the ship but…how did we get here?”

“For starters we should take a look around, what do you think Chika?” You suggested. 

The gray haired girl rapidly stood up, but realized there had been no response from her friend. 

At the moment, Chika couldn’t even really hear the conversation their friends were having. Her thoughts were too focused on other things. They were focused on that image of the townspeople all holding back the strange beast as fire spread across their bodies. She was focused on that moment where she had used a strange power against Tsubasa. And then, a specific thought made her jump awake. 

She remembered trying to reach for Kanan who turned back to save everyone.

“Where is Kanan?!”

Chika asked out of the blue. She stood up, but the pain in her body from all the damage she had taken before was getting to her, making her kneel down. 

“Chika are you okay?” “Be careful!”

You and Riko rapidly walked towards her and helped her sit down.

“I am fine.” 

The orange haired girl replied without giving too much thought to the pain spreading across her body. 

“But where is Kanan…? I don’t see her anywhere.”

You and Riko looked at each other. They knew there was no telling whether or not Kanan had managed to make it to wherever it is that they had arrived. They had no idea how they got here in the first place, but seeing the worry on Chika’s face made them want to make her feel better.

“Don’t worry!” You reassured her. “She must be around. We will go take a look around, and we’ll definitely find her!”

“Then I’ll go too!” 

Chika tried standing up, but was caught in midair by Riko once she lost balance again.

“No.” Riko scolded her. “You are going to stay here and rest. Besides, she might come back here, so it’s a good idea for someone to stay back.”

“But!”

“Please Chika. This is your task!” You added a pressuring salute. 

Chika stared at the girls. Their clothes were all tattered and their bodies obviously damaged. She didn’t like the idea of letting them do everything, but she knew they had a point, and above all, the pain in her own body was too great for her to even walk properly. 

In the end, they took Chika towards one of the bedrooms in the ship. Specifically, they took her to the room where the boxes with their luggage had appeared, and where Riko had been resting earlier. 

“We will be right back, so just stay here, okay?” Riko asked in a calm manner as she put a blanket over Chika.

“F-Fine…” The orange haired girl pouted. 

She sighed as the other two girls left. Part of her didn’t want to be left alone. At least speaking with the girls and seeing them around helped her keep her mind distracted, but once she was left alone, it was easy for all these negative thoughts and memories from recent events to flood in. 

The orange haired girl closed her eyes, and before she could realize it, she had fallen asleep. 

Not fully aware that she was now inside a dream, Chika stood in the middle of a wide void. 

There was nothing other than an extending white background. 

The orange haired girl started walking forward, but the more she walked, the darker the place would become. 

The next thing she knew, she was surrounded by a dark void. 

Everything had gone dark. She could see nothing, and she could not even listen to the sound of her own footsteps as she moved onward. 

She had continued to walk for what felt like an eternity, but then, the void was illuminated by a radiant image. 

It was the image of nine radiant girls with golden dresses standing before her. 

It was the image of what she admired the most in this world. 

But despite them being so close, their faces were blurred out by the radiance coming from them. 

And then, the one who stood in the center extended out her hand towards Chika. 

It was the leader of the legendary µ's.

Chika walked closer, ready to take hold of that hand, but the instant she was about to reach for it, the image before her shattered to pieces. 

The image of µ's broke down completely and was replaced by the image of burning fire all around her. 

She could hear Tsubasa’s laugh echoing in her head, mixed with the distorted screams of the strange being that had chased them as they ran towards the ship. 

She could hear the screams of pain from the townspeople, and the screams of her own sisters. 

All the images of all the happy times she had spent in the town were rapidly shattering around her, and before she could realize it, her own body had become surrounded by fire.

She could feel incredible heat spreading through her body as the fire consumed her, but then, she was snapped awake. 

Chika opened her eyes wide as she breathed heavily and sweat rolled down her forehead. In that instant, the sound of something falling could be heard in the room.

“?”

Chika quickly turned her head around startled, but all she could faintly listen to was a very low and strange sound close by: “P-Pigii!”

Riko and You then left the ship and started to walk around the forest. 

The moment they left Chika, the happy expressions had left their faces and were replaced by tired and worried ones. 

It wasn’t only Chika who was being chased by unpleasant thoughts. 

You clenched her fist as she remembered the last words she heard from her father. She remembered how she couldn’t do anything but to run away. She remembered how despite wanting to fight back, despite wanting to save everyone, at that moment, she truly feared for her life. 

Riko on the other hand couldn’t shake away the guilt that it all had happened because of her. If she hadn’t escaped, if she hadn’t involved all these villagers, none of this would have happened. None of these people would have gotten hurt. It all truly weighted heavily on her heart. 

The two continued to walk through the forest in absolute silence as they began drowning too deep in their own thoughts to interact at all.

Because of this, they walked aimlessly without paying attention of where they were going, but it didn’t take long for the ship to have gone completely out of sight. 

“You…”

Riko was the first one to break the silence. She stopped walking for a moment as well, making You stop at the same time. 

“Hm?”

“Didn’t…Didn’t we already walk by here?”

The gray haired girl looked around, and it didn’t take her long to realize Riko was right. Even if it was hard to distinguish the scenery properly with so many trees spreading across the place, they were by a spot with some more distinct landmarks. There was a crooked and bent tree, and an area where tree roots had become a lot more tangled.

“…”

You simply sighed, there was no denying it. They were lost.

“Kukuku…”

A voice suddenly startled them. It was a voice coming from above. Once they looked up, they saw a figure standing high up on the branch of a tree. 

Once she had their attention, the girl with a bun on her hair jumped down as her cape gracefully fluttered with the wind. And then, she fell heavily onto the ground, letting out a small squeal as the impact was higher than she anticipated.

“…”

Riko and You stepped back cautiously.

“I see that you have lost your way. You are in luck mortals.” She spoke with a grin spreading across her face. “Let me, the fallen angel, guide you through this endless maze of peril.”

The girl took a strange pose as the two girls before her stepped back once more. 

“So…” Riko simply looked at You while ignoring the person before them, and pointed towards a different direction. “What if we go that way?” 

“W-Wait!! Don’t ignore me!!”

“I’m sorry…” You scratched her head while feeling awkward. “Do you know your way through the forest? We are looking for a friend.”

“Of course I…!! Of course I… I don’t.”

“So… Riko. You were saying to go that way right?”

This time You turned around while completely ignoring the girl.

“D-D-Don’t underestimate me!! I don’t know because we fallen angels don’t need to be bound by human concepts such as directions.”

“So… you are not human?” Riko raised an eyebrow, showing no real interest in her face.

“Of course not! I already told you! I’m Yohane the fallen angel.”

“… I see.”

“H-How dare you still doubt me! You leave me no choice!!”

And in that moment, a glowing purple light appeared, covering Yohane’s body, and spreading into the shape of a complex magic circle beneath her feet. 

“W-wait…” You stepped in, trying to act before it was too late. “What are you going to-…?!”

But it was too late. 

Soon, the environment surrounding them was engulfed by the strange light. The light expanded, engulfing both girls within it as well. 

“Behold! This is a fallen angel’s true power!!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick thing I wanted to point out: Similar to You’s “Yousoro,” I am also keeping Maru’s “Zura” catchphrase. And in Ruby’s case, I will actually be using the translated one instead. That being said, I’ll keep doing my Rubesty to keep bringing you updates every week!


	7. Aquarium - Part 1

Three girls stood amidst a large maze that spread all across the forest formed by incredibly large trees. 

“Behold!” 

The girl with a bun on her hair spoke while letting out a malicious laugh. 

In that moment, everything became engulfed by a strange purple light. 

The light rapidly spread, taking the shape of a complex magic circle at her feet.

Yohane could see the lips of the gray haired girl move as she screamed and tried to approach her, but her words did not reach her. It was already too late. 

The light continued to spread further all across the rainforest. 

“This is a fallen angel’s true power!!” Yohane declared and pointed towards them. 

Riko and You closed their eyes and braced for impact as the light covered their bodies. 

What kind of magic was this girl capable of using? What would come next? They had no choice but to take on a direct impact.

And yet, they did not feel anything hit their bodies. 

They could feel a warm feeling spreading across them, but it wasn’t painful. 

And then, a strange sound reached their ears. It was the cry of a strange beast that echoed across the forest. Once Riko and You opened their eyes, they were able to see it clearly: a radiant and holy white bird had appeared. It had bright blue eyes and black feathers on its tail that resembled the feather on Yohane’s hair. The bird was twice their size and simply stood in front of them while resting on the ground.

Riko and You stared at the bird speechless, not knowing what to think or how to react.  
Seeing their faces of surprise brought great joy to Yohane who stared to laugh. 

“Kukuku.”

“…” 

“What’s the matter? Are you afraid now that I have summoned one of my loyal servants?”

“W-What… is that…?” Riko slowly stepped back as the holy bird locked its sight on her. 

“Why of course, it’s my little demon!” 

“Is this…?” The long haired girl thought out loud before questioning Yohane. “Was that void magic?”

“Magic? A fallen angel doesn’t need to use something so ridiculous as magic. It is simply my power as a dark being fallen from heaven!” 

“…”

“W-What is with that reaction?!” Yohane unknowingly reverted her voice to her lighter tone. “D-Do you still not believe me after all this?!” 

“Oh.” You finally ended up stepping closer to the bird and caressing its feathers. The bird closed its eyes while letting out happy chirp-like noises. “It’s so friendly!” 

“W-What do you think you are doing?! Don’t just touch my little demon like that!!”

Upset from listening to Yohane’s remark the bird suddenly glared at the bun girl and started pulling of her cape with its beak. 

“What do you think you are doing?! Are you betraying your master?!”

You smiled as she looked at the girl argue with the bird. It was clear to her that she wasn’t anyone dangerous. 

The gray haired girl was finally able to relax, but then, she could feel a really strong impact hit her stomach. She didn’t have time to react, and she was barely able to notice that the impact had come from Riko’s elbow. You was thrown away thanks to the strong hit. She could feel herself losing all her air as she fell down and rolled behind the trees. 

The gray haired girl struggled in pain. She had no idea why Riko had suddenly attacked her, but she would be able to see the reason soon enough. 

A girl with purple hair and pigtails had suddenly reached the place. She was running in their direction, and right before reaching them, she jumped up high into the air. Her violet eyes stared right into Yohane’s eyes as she performed a somersault above her. Before Yohane could realize it, she had landed just behind her, grabbed her arms, and restrained her. 

“W-W-What are you doin-?!” 

Yohane screamed, but the purple pigtail girl had placed her hand over her mouth to prevent her from speaking. The moment this happened, the holy bird jumped trying to attack the girl, but it was kicked away against the trees. The impact was strong enough to shake the tree and make a handful of leaves fall down on the creature.

“Sorry about that.” A new voice spoke in a friendly tone. 

You had kept an eye on the scene, and it didn’t take her long to realize that Riko had attacked her in order to keep her away from danger. It was easy to hide behind the trees, so it didn’t seem like the strange girls had noticed her presence. You had a clear view of the scene, and yet, she had absolutely no idea of where this second person had come from. 

It was a taller girl with a side ponytail. Her face strongly resembled the pigtail girl so it was easy to tell that they were related. 

Riko tried to react as the voice spoke just next to her, but it was too late. The side tail girl had already taken hold of Riko’s arms and restrained her from moving. 

“I’m going to need you to come with us, just for a bit.” 

And just like that, the girls completely disappeared from You’s field of vision in seconds. 

(W-What just happened?!)

She could not process the current events at all. She didn’t remove her sight from them not even for a second, and yet, they had all suddenly vanished. 

(Did she use void magic to warp? No… even Tsubasa needed to snap her fingers to warp. So what was that…?)

But then You was suddenly startled as the holy bird let out a cry. 

You turned around to look at the bird which slowly stood up and walked towards her. 

“Are you okay?”

The gray haired girl asked without thinking, but the bird simply let out sad noises. It gently pecked You’s shoulder as if trying to ask for something.

“You are worried about that girl, aren’t you? And they took Riko too, this is bad…”

You clenched her fist. She tried to order her thoughts and think of a good course of action. If they took Riko it was more than likely that they were allied with Tsubasa who had tried to take her away before. It was difficult to tell what kind of powers those girls were able to use, but they were clearly strong, so charging against them could prove fatal. 

But then a scarier thought hit You. If they were related to A-RISE and if word of what happened with Tsubasa had already reached them, then Riko wouldn’t be their only target but also… 

“Chika!!” 

She had to return to the ship as soon as possible. She couldn’t let them take Chika away as well, and if they did try to go after her, then that would be her chance to confront them.

You stepped forward, but then she remembered something else. 

“I have no idea how to return to the ship…” 

She scratched her head anxiously as she realized she was still lost deep within the forest.

But then, something snapped her out of her thoughts, it was the bird that continued to peck on her shoulder.

The gray haired girl turned around, glancing at the bird. She had no idea what kind of creature this really was, and whether or not it could understand her. But this was her only option right now. 

“Can you take me to where the ship is…?”

The bird turned its head before simply nodding and lowering its back to let You hop on. 

You quickly mounted the holy bird without giving it much thought. 

The bird started flapping its wings, ready to take flight. 

“Let’s go!” You moved her hand to make a salute. “Full speed ahead!! Yousor-!”

But the bird stopped flapping its wings as something caught its attention.

“?”

The bird started running across the forest at a high speed. You had to hold on tightly to make sure she wouldn’t get thrown away, and then, it stopped just next to a large tree.

“W-What are you doing?”

You jumped off the bird confused. The bird on the other hand had started to dig away using the claws on its feet. The bird then buried its beak into the hole it had dug as if searching for something.

The gray haired girl couldn’t help but to grow impatient, but then she was taken aback once she saw what the bird held in its beak. It was a Love Gem. 

The bird approached You, and let the gem fall into the palm of her hands.

The gray haired girl stared at the precious stone in her hands. Her eyes reflected over its shiny and pink surface. 

Even at a time like this, she was reminded of an old memory in particular. 

It had happened a long time ago. She was so young that most of her memories from that time were blurry and faint. However, this memory in particular was still vivid in her heart. 

It was a peaceful afternoon. The sky was clear and the sound of seagulls singing across the skies resounded over the sea. 

A six years old You Watanabe stared at her own reflection on the water. She was standing on the deck of the ship. Even if she was still new to sailing like this, she loved the sea. Being surrounded by a fresh and blue environment like this truly made her feel alive. 

It didn’t take long before the ship stopped. It stopped once they reached an old and large island. Everything was covered by bright tropical trees and tall grass that spread beyond what the eye can see. 

“We are here!” A familiar voice suddenly reached her. 

It was the voice of the legendary captain who walked from inside the control cabin. He smiled proudly and picked up You in his arms, holding her over his shoulders and letting her get a better view of the greenery that expanded before her. 

“Yousoro!” You spoke cheerfully while mimicking the salute posture she would often see her father make. 

“Yousoso!” The captain followed with a happy tone of voice. 

Even if she had joined on smaller expeditions before, there was always a small crew of people accompanying them. This time however, it was different. It was the first time she had gone on an adventure with only her father. 

The two continued to walk across the island, every time moving deeper into unknown lands. 

At this point in time, You had rarely ever left the small town of Uchiura. Even if it was a small and lively town, everything felt so different to her. Her eyes would trail off following all the different kind of birds that would fly around and hide atop the large trees. Sometimes she’d jump in surprise while hearing the sudden noises of the different animals that lived in the island, and sometimes she’d want to go and try to hug some of them, only for them to run away startled. 

She was exploring a whole new world and she couldn’t get enough of it. 

You Watanabe remembered the pure feeling of joy she had at that moment. She had a nostalgic feeling enveloping her as she remembered climbing atop a tree with her father and looking at the red skies as the sun began to set in the horizon. 

The legendary captain had prepared a tent for them to stay the night and sleep in the middle of nature. You was too excited to sleep, but eventually blacked out before she could realize it. Once she opened her eyes again, it was the next day. 

You woke up inside the tent and looked around. She tilted her head confused realizing that her father was missing. 

“Dad?” She asked, but there was no response. 

The gray haired girl slowly walked out of the tent to look for him, but her train of thought trailed off as a colorful bird flew by. She had started to follow the bird, but she would soon realize her mistake. 

The little girl had forgotten to pay close attention to her footing. She was too distracted to look where she was going. Her foot then suddenly slipped on the edge of a hill. The following event was hazy, most likely due to the panic she felt as she fell down the hill. The next thing she remembered was lying down on the sand at the edge of the island after rolling down for a while. 

She tried to sit down but a piercing pain suddenly spread across her arm. You slowly stared at it only to realize that she was bleeding. The little girl panicked for a moment, but not because of her wound. At that moment, she realized that she had gotten lost. 

Just as this happened, the captain returned to the spot where the tent was. He was holding a net full of fish he had caught to prepare their breakfast, but the net soon dropped to the ground once he realized his daughter was missing. 

You wasn’t sure of what to do. Her arm continued to bleed, but she had no idea of how to stop it. She realized that being alone made her feel uneasy. What was previously a fun paradise was now a scary place full of danger. Even the chirping of a bird in the distance made her jump up to her feet nervously. 

She had continued to walk for a bit, but soon gave up and sat on the floor. She was hungry, and her body was in pain. Losing so much blood was starting to make her feel dizzy and she didn’t know for how much longer she would be able to take this. 

Tears began to stream down her eyes before she could realize it. She cried out, calling for her father and asking for help, but then, something unexpected would help her calm down. 

The colorful bird she had been chasing earlier suddenly landed in front of her. 

The gray haired girl stopped crying out of surprise as she stared at the small bird that simply stared back at her. 

As if trying to cheer her up, the bird slowly approached her, and gently pecked her leg. You tilted her head, and then asked: “Are you lost too?”

The bird tilted its head as if to imitate the little girl, but then began flapping its wings. It started to move forward, but it kept a slow pace as if waiting for the girl to catch up. 

“Are you… going to show me the way?”

The little girl continued following the bird further into the island, but it had soon stopped. 

Once the bird stopped flying, it landed back on the sand and started jumping excitedly. 

“What is it?”

The bird continued to jump on the same spot. For some reason, You felt as though she could easily understand this bird, and began to dig up sand on the spot the bird had pointed. Seconds later, she had found an old and wooden treasure box. The bird chirped happily as You pulled out the box and then flew away. 

The moment the bird left, You forgot about the treasure, and realized she was alone again. But to her surprise, the voice of the legendary captain suddenly reached her. He was calling out to her repeatedly, and she yelled back in response. 

It didn’t take long for her father to find her. 

The little girl quickly jumped into her father’s arms and hugged him tightly as she started crying. 

“It’s okay.” The captain patted her head with care.

Once she had calmed down, the captain tore apart a piece of cloth from his white coat, and wrapped it tightly around You’s arm to stop it from bleeding. The gray haired girl started to explain what happened, and then showed him the treasure box she had found. 

“Excellent job. You are way better than all of the members of my crew! Maybe I should promote you.”  
The captain praised her, but You was still uneasy about something. 

“Is it okay if I take it…?”

“Hm?”

“Someone else left this here, right? Doesn’t that make it their treasure?”

“Hm…” The captain was lost in thought for a moment, and then replied with a salute. “Do you know what this means?”

“Yousoro!” You replied, making a salute herself.

“Yousoro is correct! But… do you know what “Yousoro” means?”

“What… Yousoro means?” She repeated confused. 

“When sailing, usually we say Yousoro as a command for the crew to straighten the ship, so it can go forward in the direction it is facing. But that’s not all there is to it.” Her father simply smiled and patted her on the head as he replied. “There are times when a captain has to make important decisions. Giving the Yousoro command means a captain is ready to move forward on the path they have chosen. It means that you are ready to move onwards no matter what. It means that once we’ve made a choice, we’ll follow it through at any cost.”

“So… it means to never give up…?”

“In a sense, yes.” The captain laughed. “Even if a storm comes, and even if it forces us to stop, we will keep going until we make it to our destination. Do you know why that is?”

“?”

“Because all your effort will definitely bring you treasure. And the true treasure is the experience. The treasure is the accomplishment of having seen something through. Yousoro is the treasure. Even if this box may have belonged to someone else, maybe hiding it here for someone to find it was their real treasure. Maybe that was their “Yousoro.” And now that’s being passed over to you!”

At the moment, the little girl didn’t truly understand. And now, even if she couldn’t recall what the treasure inside the box was. Everything made sense to her. The treasure she made that day was that experience. The treasure was the feeling of accomplishment after never giving up. 

To push forward no matter what, and to be proud of never giving up, that was her “Yousoro.” 

Even if the last time she saw her father was under such horrible circumstances. She still remembered the last message the legendary captain had sent her as his body became enveloped in flames. It was a salute. Even with just a simple salute, You now understood everything better. She understood what his last message was: “Keep going forward no matter what, and be proud of what you can do.” 

Snapping out of her thoughts, the gray haired girl stared at the Love Gem on the palm of her hand. She stared at the stone that now carried a lot more weight behind it. 

She clenched her fist while holding the stone, and whispered under her breath: “Yousoro.”

You had found her resolve to take action, but in the meantime…

“Where… are we?” Riko spoke her thoughts out loud. 

She had no recollection of what had happened. The last thing she remembered was pushing You away from danger, being approached by a mysterious girl, and then, she was suddenly here. 

She looked around, but all she could see were the stone walls of a dark room, and a set of prison bars blocking the exit in front of her.

“I see.” 

Yohane suddenly spoke out loud, making Riko notice that she was also taken prisoner. 

The bun girl sat back while crossing her legs. She brought a hand to her chin as if thinking of something and then stated her deduction. 

“Seems like we were taken by the enemy.”

“No… I know that. That much is obvious.”

“We… fell for a trap? And ended up here somehow?”

“…”

“W-What do you want me to say then?!”

Riko pouted, walking closer to the girl and pulling of her cheeks while desperate. 

“Who is the “enemy” here in the first place?!”

“A-Anyone that opposes the fallen angel is an enem-! Ouch, ouch!! I’m sorry I don’t know!!” 

“Hmph.” 

Riko let go of her and placed her hands on her hips annoyed. 

Silence fell over the jail cell for a moment until Riko suddenly spoke up.

“Didn’t you use void magic earlier? In that case you can warp us out, can’t you?”

“What are you talking about? That wasn’t void magic. What is void magic in the first place?”

Riko crossed her arms and glared at her. 

“Stop playing fool and get us out of here.”

“I-I told you I don’t know what you are talking about!!” Yohane quickly stood up and ran from Riko who was quickly coming after her after losing her patience. “W-We just need to get out of here, right?!”

“Yes, just… whatever you call it. Just do your thing and get us out of here!”

“Kukuku, in that case… step back.” 

The tone in Yohane’s voice changed as she stepped forward, swaying her cap to the side. 

Riko slowly stepped back unsure of what this girl was about to do. 

Yohane then extended out her arm while pointing towards the metal bars. 

“Oh scorching fire, I command you to melt away my enemies in the name of the fallen an-”

“Do you… really need to do that…?”

“D-Don’t interrupt me! This is important!!” 

“…”

“Cough. As I was saying, I command you to melt away my enemies in the name of the fallen angel. Let the power of my advent blow you away!” 

And with that, a large blast of blue fire shot from Yohane’s hand, melting away the steel bars to ashes in an instant. 

“D…Did you use void magic to warp that fire? You did, didn’t you?”

“Huh? Why are you going on about that? This is simply my power as a fallen angel!!”

“Right…”

“Hmph!” Yohane pouted as she looked away. “Now we can get out of here, you better be grateful!”

The blue haired bun girl started walking towards the exit of the cell, but Riko quickly grabbed her arm and pulled her back before she was able to do so.

“W-What are you doing?!”

“Don’t be so careless.” Riko scolded her. “This could clearly be a trap too.”

“Huh?”

“If they went through all the trouble to capture us, wouldn’t it make sense for there to be someone that would be guarding this place in case we tried to escape?”

“Well…Probably.”

“But the fact no one is coming even after that blast is suspicious, it could be a trap. Maybe they predicted we would get out and we are doing exactly what they want. Or what if their purpose was something else? Why did they capture us then?”

“Tch, this is why humans are so weak.” Yohane clicked her tongue, moving forward anyway. “If we stand here and worry about every single thing, we’ll never make it out!”

“Wait, but we need to have at least a plan to-!”

“A fallen angel doesn’t need a plan!!”

Yohane then walked out of the cell. She was ready to escape, but as soon as she walked into the hall she suddenly froze on the spot after letting out a scream.

“W-What happened?!”

Riko ran out by reflex while currents of wind started to swirl around her, but her will to fight disappeared in an insant. Her eyes met with a large amount of red eyes staring directly at her. But it wasn’t the eyes that scared her. Taking a closer look, these eyes came from a large group of dog-like monsters that were running towards them at full speed while barking loudly. 

“T-T-T-This is why I told you to be careful!!!!!!” Riko screamed in panic.

“W-W-What do we do?!”

“Use your magic?! I don’t know!! Good luck with that!!!” 

The long haired girl quickly pushed Yohane forward towards the monsters and then dashed at full speed back into the cell. 

“W-W-W-Wait!!!!”

Yohane screamed as the image of the dog-like beasts approaching fast reflected on her eyes.

“You are a fallen angel aren’t you?! This is nothing for you, right?! Right?!” Riko screamed at her desperately.

“F-Fine then!” Yohane finally agreed and pointed her hands towards the beasts.

“I-In the name of the fallen angel I-” But her tone of voice changed together with her attitude. “Whatever!! Just stay away!!!”

She screamed, and in that moment the ground below her began to shake. The floor under the beasts became detached from the very ground and moved up like it was made of an elastic-like material. Thanks to this, all the beasts were sent flying away from her. 

“E-Earth magic?!” Riko was surprised. She couldn’t understand the nature of this girl’s powers at all anymore.

Yohane however went on the offensive. She didn’t pay much mind to completing her incantation this time and let out a powerful blast of fire that reduced the monsters into ashes.

Both girls let out a sigh of relief and Riko slowly walked out. After making sure there were no more enemies coming, both girls slowly started walking across the hall. 

“But still… this is strange.” Riko spoke her thoughts out loud again. Her body was still shaking with fear, but she was trying to ignore it. “Why would they use weak monsters that even you could defeat as guards?”

“T-That’s rude!! Who is the person that just ran away?! Shouldn’t you be thanking me in a situation like this?!”

But Riko was too lost on her train out of thought to pay attention to the girl’s words. 

“In that case, more than making sure we can’t escape, it feels more like they are stalling us. It’s like they want us away from somewhere for long enough…? Or… Someone?” 

As the two girls continued to venture deeper into the strange building where they had been captured, You had finally managed to reach the ship. 

However, the moment You stepped above the deck of the ship once more, that’s when it happened. 

The ground suddenly started to tremble. The sun above became brighter as a large amount of trees had started to fall down, letting in more light.

And then, not too far from where she was, a building began to rise up from the underground. 

It was a large square-shaped building with stone looking walls which also resembled a small and old castle. 

The building continued to rise from above, but the strange thing is that as it moved, there was another building on top. It was a hammock looking-like building that was lifted up high on the air, and now was located on top of the castle’s roof. 

“What is going on?!”

You clenched her first and rapidly ran into the ship, she ran towards the room where Chika was located. She had no time to waste anymore, but…

“Chika? Chika where are you?!”

The orange haired girl was nowhere to be found.


	8. Aquarium - Part 2

A short brunette girl and a girl with red pigtails screamed in panic as the sound of an alarm suddenly resounded from a large device. 

“W-W-W-What is going on now?!” “I-I-I don’t know!!”

As the loud noise started coming from the machine, a dot appeared on the map and stopped in a location not too far away from them.

“Ruby!” The short girl then reacted. “You know well about these things, do something!”

“R-Ruby will try her best!”

The red haired pigtail girl then ran towards the machine and operated it using the keyboard. 

“Something… arrived?”

“Zura?”

Hanamaru then walked towards Ruby as she zoomed in on the dot. The map on the screen extended and allowed them to take a look at a much more detailed layout of the forest. 

“Maru, did you feel anything approaching the forest?”

The brunette simply shook her head as she stared at the dot on the screen confused. 

“For something this size to appear… Sis is going to be so mad if we let intruders in so easily!” 

“Don’t worry.” Hanamaru nodded and puffed out her chest. “If there are any intruders I will take care of them!”

“Wait Maru!” 

Ruby noticed the brunette was trying to leave the building and promptly stopped her. She wanted some time to think. While taking care of the intruders was an important priority, that’s not the only reason they were stationed here in the first place. They had a much greater mission and if they were to fail she knew they wouldn’t hear the end of it from her sister. 

“Before anything, how is _that_ going so far?”

“It’s going well so far, but it’s not ready yet.”

“Can you use your magic to accelerate the process?”

“I could try…”

“Then let’s do this: Ruby will go carefully investigate, and you take care of this. If things get bad as long as we have the results we can retreat immediately.”

After Hanamaru agreed to the plan, the red haired pigtail girl started walking towards the exit. 

“Please be careful, if anything happens just hurry back here!”

“Don’t worry, Ruby will do her Rubesty!” 

Ruby smiled at Hanamaru however, the brunette couldn’t help but to worry about letting her investigate on her own. Even then, she knew once Ruby was set to do something, she would do her absolute best. 

Once the red haired girl had left the bungalow, Hanamaru stretched her arms and took a deep breath. 

“Okay, zura! Time to do my Rubesty too!” 

After making sure the door to the bungalow was locked properly from the inside, Hanamaru then moved further into the building. This time she walked towards a very small bedroom. There were two small beds lined one next to the other, and the room had no windows either. 

Taking a closer look, there was a small tile on the floor that looked different than the others. In fact it had a small handle as if you could pull on it. 

Hanamaru kneeled down and put her hands on the handle. She gathered all her strength and pulled away the tile, revealing a set of stairs that led further below. 

“I… told Ruby to make this less heavy geez.” 

She complained as she sat on the floor exhausted for a few seconds before walking further below. 

As she started to descend into the passageway below, the area looked completely different. 

The environment around Hanamaru was illuminated by a yellow light that covered her body as well. The further down below she walked, the brighter the light would become. 

After stepping down the last stairway, Hanamaru found herself in a large and empty room. The room itself didn’t seem to be part of the bungalow. The walls of this location weren’t solid anymore, but instead, they were formed by the large roots of the trees that spread below. 

In the corners of the rooms, there were four large crystal-looking pillars surrounded with red light. They appeared to be surrounded by some sort of power, and they were what kept the bungalow in place above this room. 

And then, Hanamaru walked towards the source of the light. It was an old book that was placed in the center of the room. In fact, the light emanating from the book was so powerful that it was hard to see the book itself until she was close enough. But then, she was also able to see something else, or rather, someone else. 

There was a girl lying down just next to the book.

“Z-Zura?”

Hanamaru carefully approached the girl with blue hair and a long ponytail. She had her eyes closed, and her clothes were tattered along with some bruises covering her skin. 

The short brunette kneeled down and stared at the sleeping girl. She was going to try and examine her but a pair of violet eyes were now staring at her. 

Kanan froze in the spot for a few seconds after waking up. She was staring directly into Hanamaru’s eyes, but she hadn’t fully processed anything just yet. After a few more seconds of silence with their sights locked into each other, Kanan finally jumped up startled. 

“C-Chika?!”

The ponytail girl called out her friend’s name as a pounding pain suddenly attacked her head. 

“Zura?”

Hanamaru however simply tilted her head as she stared at the girl curiously. 

Kanan stared at the area surrounding her for a moment. The more she regained consciousness, the more the pain across her body caught up with her. 

After giving up on understanding the situation she simply fell back and took a deep breath. 

“Where am I…?” She asked out loud. 

Hanamaru pondered for a moment on what to answer. She was just as lost as the girl here, and letting out any important information could prove a huge mistake at a time like this. Instead, Hanamaru tried to change the subject while also focusing on something else that was worrying her. 

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah…” Kanan replied, putting some effort on sitting up again. “Just in a little pain.”

The more Hanamaru stared at her, she could tell that it definitely wasn’t “just a little” at all. 

“Hold still.” 

Hanamaru suddenly stated and stood up. 

She reached for her pocket and then pulled out a hand sized book. It was hard to tell because of the light already covering the room, but the book became covered by a similar bright light. In seconds the book grew in size and became the size of a proper book. 

The short girl let go of the book, but it didn’t fall. Instead, the book continued to hover in midair in front of the girl as she closed her eyes. 

Kanan didn’t say anything and simply stared puzzled at the girl who then slammed her hand against the book with a lot of force. The book yet again did not fall despite receiving the full force of impact. 

“?!”

Kanan jumped up startled. Her entire body had become covered by a warm light and a lot of heat spread all around her. This only lasted for a few seconds, and then.

“W-What did you…?”

Kanan stared at her own hands as she clenched her fists. Her entire body felt much lighter, all her bruises had disappeared and she was not in pain anymore. 

“How are you feeling now, zura?”

Hanamaru smiled while grabbing the book, shrinking it in size and putting it away into her pocket. 

“I feel much better…” Kanan continued to stare at her own hands in disbelief. She then moved her sight towards Hanamaru and stared at her for a few seconds until something finally clicked. “W-Wait! You!!”

“W-What is it?”

Hanamaru slowly stepped back startled by the sudden change in Kanan’s attitude. 

“That uniform! Are you part of the liberation?!”

“I don’t know what you are talking about…” Hanamaru rapidly looked away. 

“Huh.” Kanan simply crossed her arms while glaring at her suspiciously. “Then you wouldn’t happen to know a certain girl who is overly strict to the point she can get on your nerves?”

“N-Not at all!”

“Then what about a certain idiot that speaks in a very EXCITING way?”

“Z-Zura…”

“You do, don’t you?”

Despite Hanamaru’s obvious dilemma, Kanan continued walking closer while pressing on the issue as much as she could. 

“I can’t tell you anything without the password!!”

“Let’s see.” Kanan brought a hand to her chin. “Knowing her the password is probably: “SHINY” isn’t it?”

“…H-How did you know…?!”

“…” 

(That was supposed to be a joke, please don’t tell me that was really the password!!)

Kanan couldn’t help but bring her palm to her face and sigh. Despite this, Kanan knew this was her chance to get more information, as she had no real clue about anything at the moment.

“Don’t worry, if anything happens I will take responsibility. My name is Kanan.”

She changed her attitude and tried to greet Hanamaru with a smile. Still wary, Hanamaru decided to reply and speak with this person. She had figured out the most important password after all. On the other hand, the fact that this person knew the password gave Hanamaru the impression that she was a very high rank person, which in turn made her even more nervous. 

“I’m Hanamaru. It’s a pleasure, zu…- It’s a pleasure to meet you!” 

“Don’t worry, you don’t have to be so stiff.” Kanan gave her a gentle pat on the shoulders. “Can you tell me what’s going on here right now, and, what is this?” 

She then pointed at the glowing book still placed at the center of the room that continued to illuminate the place with its radiant light. 

“Yes! Right! We are in the middle of a mission.”

“Like I said, no need to be so stiff.”

“Z-Zura.”

“Anyway, what about this mission?”

“We are supposed to be investigating the decay of Legendary Power in the area. This forest was home to a small root of earth Legendary Power, so I’m trying to take a small sample and bring it back.”

“So we are inside a forest, huh.” Kanan spoke out loud to herself, and then spoke at Hanamaru. “By the way, have you seen some other girls around here?” 

“Zura? No one else has really come by. In fact I was surprised to find you here. Were you sent to check on the mission status?” 

“Well… something like that.” Kanan replied with a small lie. At the moment it was a much better option if this girl considered her an ally, and despite having so little information, she still had a top priority. “If I am here, there is chance some of my friends are in the area. I need to go find them.”

“We did see something show up on the forest earlier. Maybe those were your friends?” 

“Er… I couldn’t tell for sure, but likely yes… probably.” 

“Then it’s okay, zura!”

“Hm?”

“Ruby went out to check, so it’s okay!”

“Eh? Ruby is here too?”

“D-Do you know Ruby too, zura?!”

At this point Hanamaru was starting to feel like she was the only one that didn’t know who this person was.

“It’s been a while, but yeah.”

Kanan then kneeled down and looked at the book that radiated with light. Taking a closer look, its pages continued to flip as a strange writing continued to appear on them at a high speed. 

“How is this thing going?”

Hanamaru then kneeled down next to Kanan while taking a closer look at the book that looked like it was about to run out pages. 

“Almost done!”

“Good. Once it’s done you are going back to the base, right?”

Hanamaru nodded, and Kanan pondered for a moment before smiling to herself. 

“Then I’m going with you!” 

(It’s about time I see her again.)

The thought made the ponytail girl both nervous and excited about going. 

And not long after, the light illuminating the room started to become dim. The area covered by the light became much smaller, only covering a small circle around the book, just enough for Hanamaru and Kanan to look at each other. 

Within the now dark area, the red pillars covered in light sustaining the place became a lot brighter. Kanan couldn’t help but to stare at them, feeling like there was something familiar about them. 

But then, both girls were startled by a small sound. It sounded like a footstep, and like something gently tapping the pillar. 

“I’m sorry.” 

A new voice reached them, and someone suddenly entered their sight. Kanan quickly reacted, pulling Hanamaru away as the girl with violet hair and a side tail tried to reach for the brunette. 

The ponytail girl wasn’t going to give her any time to react and released a powerful wave of water with a kick. 

The girl simply jumped away trying to dodge Kanan’s attack and laughed. She started to slowly walk towards the back of the room while moving her hand towards one of the pillars.

“Sorry, sorry. I’m not really here to fight, but just a suggestion, you should get away from this room soon.”

Before they could realize it, the girl had disappeared from their sight. 

“W-Was that one of your friends?”

Hanamaru asked confused but Kanan simply shook her head. 

In that moment, a second realization came to them. The book had completely disappeared, covering the room in darkness. Immediately afterwards, a strange sensation followed. It was the sensation of something ascending, as if the entire floor below them was moving up. 

Thanks to this motion, the red pillars sustaining the bungalow above them had started to fall apart. At this rate, they would be crushed between the floor below and the building above them. 

Going back not too long before this took place; the red haired pigtail girl had left in order to investigate. 

Ruby continued to slowly walk across the forest while heading towards the strange and large presence that had appeared on their map. 

It didn’t take long before a large ship came into her sight. She couldn’t help but to stop walking and slowly give a step back the moment she saw it.

She had no idea how something like that got there, and despite it being her duty to investigate, she couldn’t help but feel nervous. 

As she slowly continued to approach the ship, she could hear some voices speaking in the distance. Her own body had moved before she could realize it. The next thing she knew, she was already hiding behind one of the trees as she stared two people leaving the ship and walking further into the forest. It was a girl with long hair of dark red color, and another girl with short gray hair.

Ruby tried stepping forward and calling out to them. Despite the fear of having to interact with people, one of her most immediate fears was letting people get lost in the forest by accident. This is why she felt she also had a duty to help them, but her body wouldn’t listen. Even if she tried to speak, her voice wouldn’t come out, and she couldn’t take the step forward she needed. 

Soon enough, the girls had disappeared from her sight of vision. Part of Ruby wanted to go after them, but part of her also felt relief and that frustrated her. 

The girl with red pigtails took a deep breath and stared at the ship just in front of her. For the time being, she decided to take a look around. 

After looking to her sides and scanning the area to make sure there wasn’t anyone else coming, she finally decided to board the ship. In the end, this was also her primary objective, and maybe she could find something of help inside. 

The red haired pigtail girl slowly stepped on the deck of the ship while looking around to examine it. There was not anything of importance as the deck itself was pretty empty. It didn’t take her too long either to walk all across the outside area of the ship. All that was left to check now was the room leading deeper into the control cabin. 

Ruby slowly made her way towards the door of the control room and placed her hands on the handle. She couldn’t help but let her hands shake as she tried to open the door. What could be waiting for her on the other side? What if there were more people inside, or what if it was a trap? All of these thoughts made her doubt herself for quite some time, but she still continued opening the door as slowly as she could. 

Once she finally got a look at the room inside, she sighed in relief by realizing it was empty. Not only that but, ever since she boarded the ship everything had been in absolute silence so it was safe to assume that the place was empty after all. 

She tried to examine the control room, but she was not able to find much aside from the steering wheel and a strange mechanism located just next to it with a few buttons. Ruby pondered what would happen if she were to press them, but the thought of her sister scolding her for doing something terribly wrong by mistake rapidly stopped her. 

Moving on, there was yet another door to the side that led deeper into the ship, and once she crossed it, she found something that would exceed all of her expectations. 

At first it looked like an old book that was placed in the floor of an empty room while opened in the center. Ruby kneeled down to examine it and could tell the pages felt as if the book had been drenched and then dried up. 

Instead of focusing on reading what the pages on the front said, she turned around the page and that is when she saw it. 

The next page was an illustration that spread across two pages. It was an illustration with nine radiant maidens in golden dresses with the setting sun at their backs.

“P-Pigi!! T-This is?! This is!!!!”

Ruby couldn’t help but scream thanks to her excitement and rapidly covered her mouth after she realized what she had done. 

She breathed heavily as her eyes locked on the image in front of her. For a moment everything around her felt unreal and she could feel her heart beating incredibly fast. 

She rapidly closed the book to check the cover, and that confirmed everything for her. The cover was simply the name µ’s in a stylized font. 

“W-Why is this here…?” She whispered under her own breath. 

Ruby stood up while holding the book and continued to stare at it in disbelief. 

(What should Ruby do? What should Ruby do? What should Ruby do?!)

Despite how seemingly calm she might have looked in the outside, her internal voice was freaking out and screaming nonstop. After picking up the book, she noticed there entrance to a stairway that led deeper into the ship. She knew she had to keep investigating but… should she leave the book there? 

(Should Ruby take it?! Ruby wants to take it!! But…)

Ruby couldn’t shake the feeling that simply taking the book would be a bad idea as well. But… 

(Leaving something like this here… that would be much worse!)

Looking around once more to confirm the place was clear, Ruby slowly walked away down the stairway while holding the book. She couldn’t help but feel guilty about taking it, but part of her was glad to have it with her.

Once she reached the area below, there was a very large and wide passageway. The passage way was covered with doors that led into many rooms. Being in a place like this gave Ruby the feeling that she was outside the hall of an inn rather than inside a ship. 

She slowly moved onward while tightly holding the book in her hands. She could only hear her own unsteady breathing and her own footsteps as she proceeded. Even if it was just walking around, it was incredibly nerve-wracking for her. 

Ruby tried checking on the doors that led to the different rooms, but all she could find were empty beds. The beds were very wide, and almost tempted Ruby to take a nap in one of them, but she shook her head and continued her investigation. 

Finding so many empty rooms led her to believe all of them would be like that, but that clearly wasn’t the case. Once she entered the next room, she was able to find a girl sleeping on one of the beds.

The moment her eyes met with the sleeping girl, her entire body froze in fear. She thought about running away, but then she remembered the book she held in her hands. Somehow holding this book made her feel like she should push herself some more. 

Despite her legs trembling, Ruby slowly stepped into the room. The first thing she was able to notice were some orange boxes placed the corner of the room. She kneeled to check on them, but all she could find were some mandarin oranges mixed with some basic luggage. 

Having seen everything in the room, there was only one important thing she still had to address, the sleeping girl. 

Ruby cautiously walked towards the orange haired girl who slept on top of the bed. She could tell the girl had a pained expression in her face, and it was likely she wasn’t having any kind of pleasant dreams. 

And then… the orange haired girl opened her eyes. 

Chika suddenly sat down while breathing heavily and sweat rolled down her forehead. It seems like she was suddenly and forcefully awakened from a nightmare. 

Ruby on the other hand had reacted so fast that she had no time to figure out what happened herself. Before she could realize it she was hiding under the bed and let out a faint startled noise. 

“P-Pigii!” 

“?”

Chika turned her head around startled. 

The orange haired girl was confused, she had lost the track of time, but she soon remembered Riko and You had left for to look for Kanan. 

“Are they back already…?”

She rapidly stood up, but regretted it soon after getting a dizzy spell from moving up so fast. 

“Oww” Chika closed her eyes for a moment and then stared at the floor just next to the bed. “Hm?”

To her confusion, she was able to find her book lying on the floor. 

The orange haired girl picked it up without hesitation but she wasn’t too happy about what she saw.

“Wah! I-I knew Kanan said the book got drenched but this is awful!” 

She couldn’t help but feel discomfort and regret as she browsed through the damaged pages. Despite them being dry now, part of her felt like her precious book was ruined. 

Chika closed the book and sighed before sitting back on the bed.

“What would µ’s do at a time like this?”

“D-Did you say µ’s?!”

A sudden voice startled Chika.

“P-Pigi!!”

The voice then let out a squeal of regret. 

“…”

Chika simply stood up without saying a word. 

Ruby covered her own mouth after realizing her mistake and realized she had to get away from there. But being under the bed like this, she had no escape route. And then, she noticed Chika’s eyes starting directly into hers. 

A pair of menacing pink colored eyes stared directly at her. 

And then…

“Hi there!”

Chika spoke in a carefree manner. 

“Pigyahh!!” 

Ruby rapidly ran out of the bed and tried to make her way out of the room but Chika quickly blocked the entrance. 

“Hehe, you aren’t going anywhere.” 

Chika smirked as she stood in front of the door blocking the pigtail girl’s escape route. 

“P-P-Please don’t hurt me!!”

Ruby rapidly placed her hands on the wall next to her. Letting out a spark of golden light, an entrance opened out of nowhere, allowing the red haired girl to run for it.

“W-Wha-?!”

Chika reacted surprised and quickly left the room to go after her. She tried running towards the girl that ran across the hall while trying to escape at full speed.

“W-Wait!!” Chika called out to her. “You know about µ’s too don’t you?!”

“!”

That was all it took for the girl to stop on the spot. 

“Want to talk for a bit?”

Again, Ruby’s body moved without thinking and she simply nodded while staring at the girl. 

She didn’t know how it ended up like this, but minutes later Ruby found herself back in the room were the girl had been sleeping. Even if she was a total stranger, Ruby was trying to tend to her wounds, covering her arms and part of her forehead with bandages.

“You know? Honoka is really amazing but so was Umi!! And wasn’t Kotori really impressive too?! I can’t even choose a favorite!”

“Ehehe… Ruby knows what you mean! I think Hanayo is really amazing but I also love Nico and Nozomi!”

“Right?! I totally get it!”

Ruby couldn’t help but feel like everything around her was unreal right now. She was having so much fun talking with this girl that she had entirely forgotten about her own nervousness. Part of her still felt a little awkward, but she was still really happy. 

“By the way?” Ruby then asked without thinking. “What are you doing here?”

“That’s a good question.” Chika laughed, and then a hint of worry hit her once she remembered everything that happened. Not only was Kanan missing, but Riko and You had not returned yet. “I need to go look for my friends.”

“A-Are your friends good people…?”

“Of course they are! They are amazing!”

“Then Ruby will help you find them!”

“Really?” 

“Just leave it to Ruby!”

Chika was also happy to have found this person. Even if she would always talk about µ’s with Kanan and You, it was the first time someone else was as invested as her. And despite her friends being missing, having someone to help was reassuring. 

Soon after, the two girls stood outside the ship and were walking deeper into the forest towards the place where the trees got even bigger. 

“So… we can find them if we go here?” Chika asked.

Ruby cheerfully nodded in response. 

“One of my friends is here so we can find them in no time with her help!”

But as the two continued to move onward, the ground below them started to tremble. Following that tremor, a small castle-like structure raised up from the ground. 

“W-W-W-What is going on?!” Ruby screamed while clinging to Chika.

“I-I don’t know!!”

The two closed their eyes and prepared for impact as trees around the area started falling to the sides, but to their fortune none of them fell in their direction. Soon after, the tremor had come to an end.

“T-T-That’s where Maru is!!” Ruby pointed at the sudden structure that had appeared not far from where they stood. 

“That’s your friend right?”

“She is!!”

And then, a large holy bird flew across the skies and towards the building while letting out a cry. It was flying so high up that Chika couldn’t really see that there was a person riding it on top.

“Don’t worry!” Chika smiled and rolled up the sleeve of her shirt. “I’m here so I’ll do something about it!”

Ruby nodded feeling reassured by seeing the expression of confidence in the girl’s face.

“Ruby will do her Rubesty too!”

“Perfect! Let’s go!!”

And with this, the two girls began running towards the place where everyone had unknowingly gathered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I truly apologize for the delay posting the update this week. I had a wisdom tooth surgery a few days ago, and then I had some complications so I am having a very slow recovery, but I am glad I was able to bring you the update this week despite everything! Hopefully I will be doing much better by next week, so I will do my best to keep bringing you updates in time every Friday! 
> 
> Once again, I truly appreciate everyone’s comments and kudos on the story. They make me want to keep doing my Rubesty!


	9. Aquarium - Part 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m feeling much better now so I’m glad I could bring you the update in time again! Thanks to everyone that sent good wishes and thanks for all of your support. I read every comment and I really appreciate them as well as every kudos I get! ☆

Two girls ran at full speed towards the castle that had risen from below the earth. Thanks to the trees that had fallen apart, the area was no longer sealed off. At this rate they would reach the entrance in no time but…

“C-Chika wait!!”

“?”

Ruby came to a sudden halt. Chika did not understand the reason why but she realized it soon enough. The sounds of steps coming closer could be heard. The sounds of hundreds of steps approaching became louder and louder. The doors of the castle then opened wide and a large stampede of dog like creatures rushed towards them.

“Pigii!!!” Ruby screamed in a high pitch and hid behind Chika’s back. 

“W-What are these?!” She stared at the rabid beasts with piercing red eyes that rushed towards them at full speed. 

“R-R-Ruby doesn’t know!!”

“In this case, we only have one choice.” Chika clenched her fists. 

“Are we going to fight them?!”

“Of course not!” Chika turned around and held Ruby by her waist, lifting her up with ease. “We are running away!!”

“Pigyah!!!”

The orange haired girl fled as fast as she could while carrying the red haired girl. Ruby let out a scream as she stared at the beasts closing in on them. Despite Chika’s great effort to escape, human legs could not compare to the speed of these beasts at all. 

Chika on the other hand did not have time to look behind. She ran as fast as she could with one target in mind: the ship. Thankfully the ship had landed close to their destination in the forest, it wouldn’t take her that long to get there running but even if she made it inside there was no guarantee she would be safe.

“Chika the-they are… they are!! They are getting close!!”

“I know!!” 

With her sights finally on the ship, Chika put all her strength on her arms for just a second. With this, she hurled Ruby towards the deck of the ship before jumping in right after. But the beasts were already too close. They were able to read Chika’s intention and their legs lifted from up the ground almost as the same time as the girl did.

The one to do something about it was Ruby. The instant she landed on the deck she slammed her hands against the ship. The entire vehicle was covered by a golden light and a large wall suddenly rose up. The wall covered all of the outside area of the ship and extended all the way up, surrounding it like a dome. Ruby had managed to do this just in time after Chika jumped in. Immediately after, all they could hear were the noises of the growling beasts crashing against the walls from the outside. 

Chika stared at the area around her confused. Looking at the wall it looked like it was perfectly attached to the ship, as if it had been part of it all along.

“T-T-That’s amazing!!” Chika jumped up with sparkles in her eyes. “What kind of magic is that?!”

“Ah… It’s not magic, it’s alchemy!”

“Alchemy… magic?”

“It’s… not magic.” Ruby corrected her but then her thoughts trailed off somewhere else. “Is alchemy magic possible? Is it a thing? A-Anyway! What do we do now?! We still have to go and find Maru!”

“Right!” Chika had almost forgotten their initial objective. “Can you tell me what kind of things you can do with your… alchemy?”

“Um… There are some limitations and a lot of theory behind it but… Ruby can reconstruct anything into a different material while changing its shape and form.” 

Chika stopped for a moment to think and then smiled with confidence. 

“I have a plan! But I will need your help!”

“Eh?”

Ruby could not understand what Chika had in mind for her plan but she decided to follow through with it. Both girls walked towards the control room of the boat while Chika explained her plan to her. 

A few minutes later, Chika held the steering wheel of the ship tightly in her hands.

“Ready?”

“Wait!” Ruby stopped to question her one more time. “Do you know how to conduct a ship?”

“I don’t!”

“T-Then how…?”

“Just believe in me! This won’t work without your help anyway!”

Ruby fidgeted with her fingers uneasy but looking at the confidence in Chika’s eyes made her feel a little better. Besides, she still had to go find and save her friend, it was no time to hesitate.

“Got it! Ruby will do her Rubesty!”

Chika nodded at her with a smile and prepared herself as Ruby ran outside of the control room. 

The orange haired girl took a deep breath and grasped the steering wheel as tight as she could. 

“Let’s go!!” 

The moment Chika yelled her command the walls surrounding the ship disappeared. With the walls gone the beasts could jump in at any moment, but they would not give them the chance. In an instant, the ship shot forward at full speed. 

The reason the ship was able to move was because of Ruby’s alchemy. She used a tree that was just behind the boat as the medium and combined it with the ground of the forest as material. With this, she created a massive wall behind the ship that continued to expand at a large speed, pushing the ship forward just as fast. With Ruby taking care of this, Chika was using the steering wheel to try and maintain the direction of the ship. Of course since the ship was not on water this wasn’t of much help. 

Both girls screamed as the ship continued to shoot forward thanks to the ever-expanding mass on its back. Thanks to the strong impact by how fast the large ship moved all the beasts that charged against it were thrown to the sides or ran over. The strength of the attack had been so grand that most of them were reduced to ashes while a few just ran away deeper into the forest. 

With the beasts taken care of, there was one new problem. The ship had not been too far away from the structure, and after shooting at such a high speed towards it…

“R-Ruby stop!!” Chika yelled once she realized it. 

“I-I already did but I poured too much power!! It’s not stopping!!!” Ruby yelled back dashing towards the control room to face Chika. 

The two girls hugged each other and screamed as the ship continued to dash forward while approaching the castle closer and closer. And with a loud crashing sound, the ship smashed against the large wooden doors at the entrance, shattering them apart and stopping already inside the building.

Chika and Ruby rolled on the floor while clinging to each other and trying to endure the impact. Once the movement stopped both took a deep breath and lied on the ground without moving for a while.

“We…We are alive…” Ruby whispered as she stared into the distance.

“A…Ahahaha we are…” 

The two took a few minutes to try and regain their composure. Once they walked to the outside area of the ship they realized they could not see the forest anymore. This was because the large mass Ruby had created to impulse the ship forward had also entered the building and completely sealed off the exit. 

“R…Ruby hopes there won’t be any more monsters.” 

The red pigtail girl was scared but she was also tired. Despite being pretty skilled at alchemy, creating a mass of this size was incredibly energy consuming.

“It’s fine, if they come back I’ll take care of them!”

Chika then jumped off the boat and stepped into the building. The red pigtail girl walked right behind Chika nervously. She couldn’t help but be paranoid and think of all the things that could be waiting inside, but finding her friend was more important than anything. 

Chika stepped in and looked around at the new environment around her. The place was much larger on the inside than how it looked on the outside. It looked like the main room of an old manor. Everything was old and dusty. At first glance there was a wide stairway in the center of the room that split into two directions to the sides with stone statues at the front. Due to how old the place looked like however, the statues were broken and it was hard to tell what they had been in the first place. 

“Do you know what this place is?” 

Chika hoped Ruby would have some more answers but the red haired girl simply shook her head.  
Both continued to slowly walk forward, wary of anything that would come after them but there was only silence inside the empty building. 

As they moved in deeper they were able to see a large amount of doors all around the walls but they decided to take the way up the stairway instead. The stairs were old, dusty and would let out a creaking noise every time the girls stepped on them. 

Ruby grabbed unto Chika’s arm by reflex. She was nervous wondering if they would fall off, but both continued to proceed without any problems. That is until they were almost to the top. 

Right before they were able to reach the upper platform that spread into the doors to the sides, they found a large wall of stone blocking their way forward. They had not seen it before because of how dark it was, but now that they were this close there was no doubt, the way forward was sealed off.

“I see.” Chika spoke as she crossed her arms.

“Hm?”

“I see, I see. It’s totally like that! You know? This is where we are supposed to explore the place and solve some difficult puzzles before we can proceed! It’s the scenario where the boss room is right before you but you need to take a detour first and-!”

Chika’s words however were cut down by something simple. Ruby placed her arms in front of the wall and opened up a path for them to proceed.

“Wha-?! B-But the puzzles are important! Do you know what would happen if we get to the boss without leveling up beforehand?!”

“Boss? Ruby doesn’t understand but she thinks we should hurry.”

“F-Fine then! This is fine too! Let’s go!” 

Still a little hesitant, the orange haired girl followed Ruby. While there were rooms that led further up to their sides, now that they were beyond the wall they were able to find yet another set of stairs right in front of them. They continued climbing up the stairs forward and were able to find one single room with a lock on it. 

Of course a simple lock was nothing to Ruby who used her alchemy to break it apart, allowing them to proceed. 

Once they entered they found themselves inside a large hall. Everything felt quiet as the area became gradually darker. 

“R…Ruby doesn’t like this…”

“Hm.” 

Chika was distracted trying to look the place around her as she walked forward. It was hard to see properly, but soon torches with fire started to light up as they continued to walk. The torches gradually illuminated the place, allowing them to have a clearer view of the hall. 

The walls around them looked just as old as the ones outside, but there was something that continued to call Chika’s attention.

“This pattern is…”

“?”

“This is totally what happens before you reach the boss of the area!!”

Once they reached the end of the hall, the place expanded into a much larger and circular looking room. At the end of the room, there was a large altar, and on top of the altar there it was. A massive beast with that looked similar to a dog. Red eyes adorned its three heads with horns coming out of each. 

Once Chika and Ruby stepped into the room, it awakened with a mighty roar. 

 

Not long before this, the pillars sustaining the bungalow fell apart. With this the building crashed down on top of the plain ceiling of the old castle. Its windows shattered and most of the things inside fell down, but despite the impact the bungalow was not destroyed.

“Are you okay?” 

Hanamaru could hear a faint voice close by. She had no proper recollection of what happened. Her body felt heavy and her sight was dark and blurry. After a few seconds, her senses began returning to her. She was quickly able to recognize the place, she was inside the bungalow.

“Hey! Are you okay?!” 

This time she could see a tall girl with a large ponytail behind her back standing before her. 

“Z..Zura. Somehow. What happened?” 

Hanamaru slowly stood up with Kanan’s help. 

“I’m not sure.” Kanan shrugged. “The place below began to crash down so I brought us here to evacuate.”

What Kanan had done was simple. The moment the place began crashing down on them, she grabbed Hanamaru in her arms. Immediately afterwards she used her magic to propel herself up and break into the structure above them as it came crashing down. 

“I see.” Hanamaru sighed without energy but she soon remembered something that worried her. “Wait! What about the Legendary Power sample I was taking?!”

“Huh? The book you were using to collect energy? It’s gone.”

“T-That can’t be Zura…”

“Can’t you just take another sample?”

“That’s not it!” Hanamaru shook her head as worry started to increase in her. “I was taking a sample here because there was a root for legendary power in this forest! I don’t know what is happening but… the sample was intended to be used to collect information. If it falls in the wrong hands they could use it to damage the root and then-!”

“Tch. If the Legendary Power in the forest dies down it’s going to become like everywhere else, monsters will take over, life will die and we will be left with no more clues huh?”

“Exactly, Zura.”

“Ahhhh what a bother!!” Kanan scratched her head annoyed. “And I’m sure that girl earlier tried to kill us so there’s no doubt they would do something like that! Alright, let’s go retrieve that book!”

“Are you going to help me?”

“Of course I will!” Kanan hit the palm of her hand with her fist enthusiastically. “I’m sure Mari and Dia worked hard to find this clue so I can’t let someone take it away just like that!”

“Z-Zura.” 

Hanamaru was surprised to see this person talk so casually about people that she knew were very high ranking and important. But at the same time that felt reassuring. 

“T-Then I will give you some support, zura!” Hanamaru brought out the book she had used to heal Kanan earlier and made it hover in the air in front of them. 

“What are you doing?”

“I specialize in earth magic.” Hanamaru explained as she placed the palm of her hand on the book and began to concentrate. “The root of Legendary Power in this forest is in fact a root of Earth Legendary Power. Because of this my magic is being boosted and I can sense things as long as they are within the area.”

“Ah! So then!”

“That’s right, Zura! I can follow the track of the girl that appeared before us!”

After leaving the bungalow, the two stood on top of the castle’s roof high up in the skies. 

“Hm.” Hanamaru walked around before stopping on a specific spot. “It seems like she went here.”

“Got it!” 

Hanamaru kneeled down trying to look for an entrance but Kanan didn’t bother with this. She lifted up Hanamaru, holding her in her arms in a bridal style. After that she jumped down while unleashing a strong kick powered with water magic. The blast of compressed water and Kanan’s force shattered apart the ceiling, letting them infiltrate the building in seconds.

“There we go!” 

Kanan gently let down Hanamaru on the ground. The brunette simply stared at Kanan dumbfounded for a few seconds before finally reacting. 

“U-Um… her trace is all over the place, this is strange.”  
“Hm.” Kanan crossed her arms. “Come to think of it, if you can sense things within the forest, couldn’t you sense this place being down here before?”

Hanamaru shook her head. 

“I couldn’t at all. There is a strange energy inside here that is mixing with the root of power. Maybe this is why I’m getting mixed information about that girl too…”

“Well, you did sense her entering through here. For the time being let’s try checking any places you can tell she’s visited.”

“Got it!”

Still confused by the mixed signals she received, Hanamaru started to guide Kanan through the old castle. The two of them walked across a long hall covered with broken down statues. It was a large place with many doors so it was easy to get lost but Kanan decided to trust this girl’s guidance.

Soon the two of them stood before a much larger door covered by a lock.

“I think she went here, zura.”

“Good. Let’s go.”

Again, Kanan had no restrain about being forceful at a time like this. She simply blasted the door open with a kick and walked inside. 

The place on the other side of the door was bizarre. It was covered by an unnatural red light. Kanan and Hanamaru proceeded slowly as they examined the area. All they could see were giant-sized test tubes all across the room. It seemed that the light came from inside the tubes, but once they stepped closer to look at them…

“These are-?!”

“They are monsters, zura!”

Inside the tubes, dog like creatures floated as if in a frozen down state. 

“W…What is going on?” Kanan questioned out loud. 

The two continued walking towards the end of the room only to find a strange machine. It was a square like metallic machine with many cables that ran towards the tubes.

“Oh.” A voice reached them, making both girls rapidly turn around. 

A pair of piercing violet eyes stared at Kanan and Hanamaru from the entrance of the room. 

The girl with purple pigtails glared at them with killing intent as she spoke. 

“You shouldn’t have come here.”

But Kanan and Hanamaru were not the only ones who had discovered something strange. 

 

You Watanabe ran across the large halls of the castle. It seemed like the holy bird that accompanied her had flown away startled as soon as they landed, so she was now on her own. 

The young sailor girl had a really great sense of direction but she felt lost in a maze like this. She had checked through most of the doors on the upper floor but all she had found were empty rooms. 

“Damn it, they got to be here.” You complained as she ran down a stairway below. 

The moment she stepped on the next floor below, she could hear the sound of roaring beasts coming at her. It had been the same when she first infiltrated the building. You didn’t hesitate to unleash a barrage of bubble bullets to open her way forward. 

“What is up with these monsters?” She spoke her thoughts out loud as she ran away. “They are very weak but there are so many of them inside.”

The gray haired girl stopped for a moment to catch her breath and leaned her arm against the wall. In that moment, a clicking noise could be heard. With a swift movement, the wall turned around revealing a secret passage. The wall continued to move as it flipped completely and dragged You into the hidden room. 

The gray haired girl immediately entered a fighting stance startled but there were no enemies waiting for her. In fact the room had looked more like a bedroom. It had a large bed in the center with purple sheets, and black furniture covered all the room. In the corner there was a lamp that illuminated the place, and there was a table just next to the bed. Looking at it, it was hard to believe she was still inside the same castle. 

You walked forward with caution as she examined the room but something quickly caught her attention. It was a pile of papers lying down on the table. To be more precise what caught her attention was a picture on one of them. It was a picture of her father.

“What is this…?”

The sheet of paper had the photo of her father on a corner and it contained a lot of information on him. It had his full name, the names of his family members and a detailed report on all his abilities. You felt shocked the moment she read through the page and rapidly checked through the other pages that were spread across the table. 

All of them had information on all the villagers of Uchiura. It had the details about Chika’s sister, and even Kanan’s father. It had information on the lady that ran a small fruit shop, and the old man who would sell milk every morning. 

“…”

You couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Why was this here? What did it mean?  
And then, the last thing she found was a letter which she began reading out loud without hesitation. 

_We have tracked down the princess. I hereby order the two of you to make your way towards Aokigahara and seize the root of legendary power. I am glad to inform you that things have lined up in our favor. The princess has escaped to the town of Uchiura. I will go retrieve her myself and bring the sacrifices for the Aquarium Project with me. After this I will rejoin you so we can proceed with everything as planned. Do not fail me.  
–Tsubasa Kira._

“Sacrifices…?” You couldn’t stop her hands from shaking as she read the words on the letter. “Aquarium Project?”

And then, she remembered something. She remembered the moment Riko had used a strange power to transform and fight a giant dragon. Above all she remembered the words the princess had spoken out loud: _“Idolization: Aquarium.”_

 

Unaware of the current events, the princess walked inside the building as well.

“Are we getting close to the exit already?” Yohane complained as she walked down the stairs in an old passageway. 

“Why are you the one asking that? You are the one who said it should be around here.” Riko stared at her annoyed.

“Well, it should! Maybe.”

“Come to think of it… what kind of facility would keep the prisoner cells on the higher floors?”  
“Huh?”

“If you think about it wouldn’t it make sense for the prisoners to be kept sealed away in the bottom floors, maybe even underground?”

“Um… you have a point.”

“Don’t give me that! Then what are we doing going further below?!”

“What? Do you want to turn back now after coming all the way here? Besides, this way we are moving closer to hell, it is perfect for a fallen angel such as m-! Ow, I’m sorry please don’t hit me!”

“Anyway!” Riko crossed her arms and sighed. “This building has to end somewhere, maybe it wouldn’t hurt to check.”

The two continued walking down and eventually reached the end of the stairway. All this time, no matter how much they continued to progress, most of the place looked almost the same. Empty halls with old looking walls and dust everywhere. Had it not been because they constantly continued to descend further, they may have assumed they were just walking in circles. 

This time however, it was a little different. They stood by the entrance of another hall but this time it was much wider, almost like an empty room. Despite it being completely empty, there was a wide door of steel at the very back of the room.

“Is this…?” Riko wondered out loud.

“It’s the exit!” Yohane celebrated. “See? The power of a fallen angel is a force to be reckoned with.”

“Sure, sure. Let’s get out of here already.”

The two rushed towards the door but came to a sudden stop. 

“Why are you two here?” 

The one who spoke was the girl with purple hair and a side ponytail. She stood just in front of the door, making sure to block their exit. 

Riko and Yohane became wary in an instant and stepped back. 

“I don’t know what Tsubasa is doing, but I even went through the trouble of keeping the princess here. I didn’t really expect you to be wandering all the way here though.” 

“P-Princess?!” Yohane jumped up while staring at Riko. 

The girl with long wine-red hair did not have a happy expression. She glared at the person that had taken them here with anger building up in her face.

“Who are you? What do you want with me?”

“Oh, right.” The purple haired girl spoke in a carefree manner. She did not seem to care much about Riko’s anger. “My name is Seira Kazuno. I am a member of Saint Snow and I am here to take you back to your castle. Is that a good enough answer for your highness?” 

“I am not going back anywhere. Now step aside and let us through.”

Seira sighed. 

“You are as stubborn as I’ve heard. Sorry but I don’t have the time to play around right now.”

Having said this, Seira disappeared before their very eyes. She reappeared just behind Riko, dashing towards her at full speed. The purple haired girl extended out her arm trying to reach for Riko’s back but a strange noise echoed through the room the moment her hand made contact. It was the sound of the skin in the palm of her hand being torn apart.  
“W-What did-?!” Seira jumped back and created some distance between her and Riko. 

Yohane stepped back in shock until her back hit the wall. She was surprised by looking at blood dripping down from Seira’s hand. 

“I thought it was strange. You warped us inside the building but it was way different from Tsubasa.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Seira glared at her while trying to withstand the pain in her hand. 

“There was a fundamental difference between what you two can do. It’s simply once you realize it. Tsubasa didn’t need to touch her targets to warp them away. If you had that power you wouldn’t have needed to restrain me back at the forest. You could have taken me without even making your presence known. So why take that risk?”

“Heh. So you were aware of that and used your wind magic to shield yourself.”

“I don’t like fighting.” Riko stepped forward. “But wind can be sharper than a blade so it’s in your best interest if you let us through.”

“I see.” Seira let out an exhausted sigh. “I don’t like fighting either, but I can’t allow you to do as you please. I’m going to have to use some force.”

Seira then slammed her hand against the floor. The instant it made contact she disappeared from their sight and reappeared in front of the door once more. The sound of static reached Riko’s ears as a spear of lightning appeared in Seira’s hand, which she then hurled towards Riko. All of this had happened too fast for Riko to manage to react in time. 

The long haired girl prepared to shield herself with her magic but she knew she wouldn’t make it in time like this. 

“Tch.” Yohane clicked her tongue. 

The blue haired girl stepped forward. She extended out her cape which became shrouded in a cape of flames. The flames ate away the lightning, completely stopping Seira’s attack. 

“I don’t know what’s going on here and what you two are going on about.” Yohane spoke with a deep voice and then pointed at Seira dramatically. “But this pest is trying to get in the fallen angel’s way so this calls for my dark judgment.”

Seira cracked her neck to the side and extended out her arms as she smiled. This time at least ten spears of lightning appeared around her, floating in the air in the shape of an arc. 

“Fine then, if you think it’ll make a difference I’ll let the two of you come at me at once!”

A fierce fight broke out, but it wasn’t the only fight taking place right now. 

 

Going back to the entrance of the castle, beyond the main stairway and into a room with an altar inside, two girls fought against a fierce beast. 

“C-Chika!” Ruby called out at the orange haired girl. 

The red pigtail girl held a spear in her hands with blades that extended to the sides. She was using her weapon to stop the three headed canine beast. The beast bit down on her weapon, its mouth barely being stopped from closing thanks to the blades. 

“I got it!” 

The orange haired girl charged from behind Ruby. She jumped up high and punched the beast on its head. The beast staggered for a second thanks to the impact but it quickly retaliated. 

Chika and Ruby both escaped to the sides as the beast split apart Ruby’s weapons with a large bite. It let out a massive roar with all of its three heads before jumping up in the air and towards Chika. 

“Chika!!” Ruby screamed in panic as the beast pounced on top of the orange haired girl. 

“Is this… the pattern where someone strong walks in and saves us? Because I hope it is!!” Chika screamed. 

In that moment, someone walked outside the forest. Slow footsteps continued to move forward towards the old castle. Despite some of the roaming beasts charging towards them at once, they were all sliced apart by the graceful dance of a blade. And then, the figure reached the sealed away entrance. This did not stop them from moving onward. With the spark of a golden light an entrance opened up for them. 

Back inside the castle, the orange haired girl could feel her body growing faint as the beast’s full weight pressed on top of her. She could get a clear view of the beast’s fangs as they closed down on her. 

But then the beast was thrown against the wall. This was thanks to Ruby who used alchemy to make a large fist emerge from the floor and punch the beast. 

“D…Did we defeat the Chaos Cerberus?” Chika asked as she slowly got up.

“C-Chaos Cerberus?” Ruby asked with a trembling voice.

“That’s totally what that thing is! Isn’t it? Isn’t it?!”

The beast remained lying on the floor for a moment but it didn’t take long for it to jump back up. It let out a louder roar and the horns on its head started growing in size. As this happened a magic circle appeared on its feet. It did not take longer than a second to charge up its power and shoot a massive fireball towards Ruby. 

The red pigtail girl closed her eyes tightly without being able to react. Her body trembled in fear and her thought process came to a halt.

“Ruby!!” 

Chika ran forward and stepped in front of the girl. She extended out her arms in front of her body to try and shield herself, but the attack never hit. The moment the fireball touched Chika’s hands it disappeared into thin air with the sound of space being distorted. 

“C…Chika?” 

Ruby slowly opened her eyes but Chika was as confused as her. She stared at her own hands in disbelief. There wasn’t the sign of even a single scratch in them.

“It’s the same as back then…” She whispered under her breath. She remembered the time she fought against Tsubasa. At that time she had been too caught up in the moment and acted on a whim, but this couldn’t be a coincidence.

“Chika!!” Ruby yelled at her, snapping her back to reality. She pushed the girl to the side just before the Chaos Cerberus pounced towards her again.

The orange haired girl fell and rolled across the floor but she rapidly got up and ran to dodge another of the beast’s attack. She ran all the way where Ruby was and the alchemist then released another attack. She placed her hands on the wall and a large spear shot out, impaling the beast and restricting its movements for a moment.

“C-Chika, Ruby doesn’t think this is a monster.”

“Huh?”

“Monsters can’t use magic, so this is probably a magical beast.”

“Huh? Still sounds like the same to me!!”  
“B…But magical beasts are different! They are usually powered by a magic core inside them. We can’t defeat it unless we break that core!”

“A magic core…?” Chika tried to think and an idea rapidly reached her. “That’s it! Let’s break the core!”

“Eh?! H-How are we going to do that?”

“You have your alchemy right? Use something super strong that exposes it and then leave it to me!”

The Chaos Cerberus did not give them enough time to continue with their plan. After struggling it broke up the spear around its body and absorbed it. By absorbing it, it used it to fix its body and charge at the girls again.

“I can try but… I already used too much energy. I only have enough for one last attack!!” Ruby yelled as she ran away to dodge the beast. 

Both girls barely had time to react. Not only had the beast started to shoot fire magic at them with more frequency, but its speed had definitely increased. 

Ruby had tried to dodge the beast again but she was not able to keep up anymore. After its next attack she could feel the beast’s claws sinking deep in her arm. She was then dragged across the floor and pushed against the wall. 

The young alchemist let out of a loud scream as blood began pouring out of her arm.

“Damn it!!!” Chika yelled as she ran forward. 

One of the beast’s head glared at her releasing a massive wall of fire but Chika used her fist to nullify it. She ran with all her might and shot a punch against the beast’s head but the beast went in for a headbutt. The beast’s head sank deep into Chika’s stomach as it forced all the air out of her lungs and sent her crashing against the wall.

“C-C-Chika!!” Ruby screamed while trying to ignore her own pain but the beast’s claws only sank deeper into her. 

“Don’t… give up yet.” Chika slowly stood up. She had taken heavy damage but was lucky enough for the beast’s horns to miss her when it attacked her. 

“C…Chika! No! Get away from here!!”

“Shut up!” Chika replied angrily. “Leaving you here isn’t an option! I told you I would do something about it so I will! Believe in me!”

The Chaos Cerberus glared at Chika with one of its heads. It let go of Ruby after switching to its new target. Its demonic red eyes stared into Chika’s eyes as it started running towards her at full speed. 

Chika let out a battle scream as she dashed against the beast with no hesitation. She could hear Ruby screaming out her name but she did not stop. 

Tears streamed down Ruby’s face. She did not know what to do. Her body was in pain, she was scared. But amidst the chaos inside her, Chika’s words echoed in her head: _“Believe in me!”_

There was no reason to hesitate, that was all she needed to do.

The beast charged towards Chika with a full body slam but it was rendered powerless in an instant. Large spikes shot out from the floor and extended all the way up towards the ceiling. The spikes then reverted back but they had all pierced the beast, slicing its body apart. 

That’s when Chika saw it, a bright red light inside the beast’s center. The orange haired girl did not hesitate and punched the strange light with all her might. The sound of distorted space could be heard, and the beast vanished away at the same time. 

And then, where the beast stood, a small gem fell to the ground. It was a pink gem with the shape of a heart. 

Chika and Ruby both fell silent as they stared at the gem in front of them. 

“I…Is that?” Chika whispered.

“It is!!” Ruby ran towards Chika while using her hand to hold her limp arm.

“We did it!” “We did it Chika!!” The two of them celebrated and went for a high five. 

And within their happy cheers, the sound of space being distorted resounded. The sound appeared the moment their palms had hit each other.

Ruby’s cries of happiness were soon turned into cries of pain as a black aura started to envelop her body.  
The red pigtail girl fell to the floor while screaming. 

“R…Ruby?”

Chika was caught completely off guard. She kneeled down and stared to shake Ruby’s body but Ruby could not respond and the black aura continued consuming her further.

This is when the sound of steps reached Chika’s ears. This was followed by the sound of a blade being unsheathed. The moment Chika turned around, there was someone else standing at the entrance of the room. 

It was a tall girl with wonderful glossy hair falling behind her back. She held a large sword in her hand and wore a blue uniform just like Ruby, however hers was adorned with a red ribbon on the front. The girl had a mole just under her lips and her aqua colored eyes pierced into Chika’s soul. The moment she stared into the girl’s eyes Chika couldn’t help but feel intense fear spreading across her. 

And then, she spoke with a cold and commanding voice that sent chills down Chika’s spine.

“Die.”


	10. Aquarium - Part 4

A powerful glare shook Chika down to her very core. 

The orange haired girl was not given a single second to react as a wall rose up from the floor, dividing the room in half and trapping her in a small space. Chika looked around her surroundings startled. All she could see were walls and there wasn’t too much space to move either. 

Chika could then hear a loud voice on the other side. The voice was calling out to her sister, but it got drowned with Ruby’s constant screams. The wall that blocked Chika’s path was blasted away once the voice went silent. A pair of turquoise eyes were glaring at her once more as the rubble fell next to her feet. 

“What did you do to Ruby?” The black haired girl spoke with a cold tone. 

“I didn’t do anythi-!!”

Chika’s words were cut short. The black haired girl was running out of patience. She hurled a small emerald up in the air and towards Chika. The crystal was covered by a golden light and changed its shape into a spear as it flew right past the orange haired girl. 

“Giving me excuses is pointless. Haven’t you seen your own hands?”

“Eh?”

Chika then stared at her hands. A cold feeling sank deep into her stomach the moment she saw the palm of her hands enveloped by a black aura. It was the same aura that was making Ruby suffer. It was the same aura that had taken over Tsubasa before. And now, that energy rested on Chika’s palms. 

“Release Ruby immediately.”

“H-H-How do I…?”

“Fine then.” The black haired girl held the hilt of her blade tightly. “I am sure she will be released this way. I, Dia Kurosawa will end your life right here and right now.”

Chika instinctively stepped back the moment the black haired girl stepped forward. Dia swung her blade across the air and Chika jumped as far back as she could. For a moment the orange haired girl thought she was safe but she soon realized that wasn’t the case. Despite not receiving a fatal wound, the attack still managed to tear a hole to the side of her clothes and graze her skin. 

She didn’t know how to fight this girl. She didn’t even know if it was okay to fight her at all. Chika knew this person was just trying to help Ruby. Helping Ruby is something she wanted to do as well but… looking at her own hands Chika knew this was her fault. She had to do something about it, she needed time to think and figure out something, but Dia wouldn’t be so kind as to give her as much as a second. 

The black haired girl’s next attack was already incoming. This time Dia had grabbed two translucent gems out of her pocket. She hurled them at Chika, and both became shrouded by a golden light in midair as they took the shape of sharp needles. 

The orange haired girl tried to run but the speed of the needles was too fast. Knowing she couldn’t avoid them she extended out her hand to defend herself, and with the sound of distorted space the needles returned to their original shape in Chika’s hands. 

Chika felt relief for just a moment. It was clear that this person was using alchemy. Chika didn’t know any details about it. She didn’t even know any details of what she could do herself, but she could still stop Dia’s attacks like this. 

On the other hand, Dia looked unfazed. She did not show any kind of frustration or surprise because of what just happened. She didn’t need to. In this moment there was just one simple thought in her head: to destroy her enemy at all costs. 

Chika decided her best option was to escape. She needed time to figure out a way to dispel the strange attack that consumed Ruby, and there was chance it would go way if she went away. She ran for it and tried to make her way towards the exit but Dia simply stepped forward. The moment the heel of her shoes made contact with the floor, the entire floor became enveloped by a golden light. Followed by this, the entrance to the room was sealed and the entire structure inside completely changed. 

Chika placed her hand on the sealed entrance hoping for her power to let her escape, but it didn’t work. The orange haired girl stared nervously at the new layout of the room. What was once a large and empty dome shaped room was now a giant maze. She was surrounded by walls with only a thin path to move forward, and more importantly the black haired girl was not in her sight anymore. 

A small drop of sweat rolled down Chika’s forehead. She had no way to exit the room and her only option was to move forward. Why would the other girl trap her like this? But it didn’t take long for Chika to realize it. This girl was an alchemist just like Ruby. At this point she had seen Ruby use it a lot of times, and every time she did, she had to place her hands against something. Back in the fight against the Chaos Cerberus, Ruby had to run around the edges of the room to use the walls as weapons but in this room with so many walls then…

A thin spike shot from one of the walls and towards Chika’s shoulder. Chika was thrown back against the opposing wall as the spike pierced her skin. The orange haired girl let out a scream. She used all her strength to pull it out but blood had started to pour out of her wound. 

“I see.” Dia spoke in a calm manner. 

Chika could hear the girl’s voice loud and clear but she was losing her sense of direction, she couldn’t tell where it came from at all.

“It seems that you are able to stop my alchemy from activating if you come in contact with it.” Dia explained. “But just as I thought, you can’t do anything once the process has been completed. In other words you are completely powerless if you aren’t aware of when the transformation process begins in the first place.” 

Everything felt silent for a moment. All Chika could hear was her own breathing and the screams of Ruby in the distance who continued to struggle against the strange aura that consumed her. Where would Dia attack from next? What kind of attack would she use? If she was powerful enough to change the layout of the room in an instant, did it even matter where Chika was? Did she have any way to escape? No, that wasn’t the most important thing here. The most important thing was…

_(How do I save Ruby?)_

“This is the last chance I’m giving you.” Dia spoke again. “Release Ruby this instant.”

This only added more pressure to Chika. It’s not like she didn’t want to. It’s not like she wanted this to happen. And yet, it was her fault. She knew she had to take responsibility, but she couldn’t let herself get killed here either. 

“I don’t know how!!” Chika screamed desperately. “I want to save Ruby as much as you do! Please give me some time and I’ll figure out something!!”

“Give you some time?”

And then, a needle stabbed into Chika’s left arm. 

“Do you have any idea of the terrible pain she is in? And you want more time?” Dia spoke in a mocking tone that flowed into one full of anger and hate. “Don’t be ridiculous.” 

Chika felt distressed. She realized there was no reasoning with this person. All she could do was to run across the maze. If she continued moving around then she may be able to escape some attacks. But she knew this wasn’t a good option either. Just running wasn’t going to get her anywhere. If she wanted to get out of this alive, and to find a way to help Ruby, then she had to do something about this girl first. Chika stared at her own hands as she ran. Both Ruby and Tsubasa had fallen to a strange attack after she made direct contact with them. She didn’t know how this worked, she didn’t know why it happened, but if a touch was all it took then her best way to defeat Dia was as simple as touching her. 

It sounded simple and yet getting close enough to touch as much as a string of her hair felt impossible. 

Chika ran across the maze as fast as she could. She had to throw herself to the floor to dodge large spears that came flying at her at full speed. As she ran, she had barely managed to dodge large spikes that shot out from the sides of the wall. If anyone had simply stood there they would have been crushed in between them. The small space between the maze’s walls had become a living hell full of projectiles and attacks, each and every one with the intent to end Chika’s life in one shot. 

Dia was growing impatient. She couldn’t bear to see her sister in pain anymore and the aura had started to consume her further. Ruby’s screams had become muffled as her body had almost become invisible while shrouded in a black aura. The black haired girl felt something stabbing at her heart the moment she could not even hear her sister’s voice anymore. She couldn’t play around any longer. She had to end this now. 

Dia’s attacks stopped as she stepped into the maze herself. If her attacks weren’t working then she would end this with her own hands. 

Ruby’s vision was fuzzy and blurry. She could barely see the figure of her sister stepping forward, ready to stain her own hands for her. She felt incredible pain surround her body along with a burning feeling. She felt as if her very soul was being consumed, and as tears rolled down her face she tried calling out to Dia. 

“S…Sis… Don’t…” 

But Dia couldn’t hear her voice anymore.

Chika clicked her tongue the moment she reached a dead end inside the maze. She was glad that Dia’s attacks had stopped but she knew it wasn’t a good sign either. She turned around and tried to run towards another path, but the black haired girl blocked her exit. Dia’s gaze was enough to make her feel like she was as good as dead already. 

“W-Wait!” Chika tried to speak as she stepped back but Dia did not respond. Instead she stepped forward and shot two translucent gems towards Chika. 

The orange haired girl used her hand to stop the attack in midair as they transformed into needles. It had become a close range battle again. If she was going to fight back, this was the best time. 

Chika clenched her fist, she didn’t want to inflict this kind of pain on anyone else, but this was her only chance. She didn’t have to land a hit on her, she didn’t have to fight back or be strong enough to knock her out. She just had to touch her once. 

Dia continued moving forward. She was not intimidated by Chika’s figure at all. This time she held two different gems in her hands: a sapphire and an emerald. She shot both towards Chika while using her alchemy on them. Chika used her hand as a shield as she ran forward. Once she dispelled this attack she could reach her. But Dia’s attack was a direct hit. Chika screamed as sharp needles pierced through her hand. It seems like Dia had changed her timing and the projectiles had already changed form before making contact. 

Losing her chance to attack, the one that moved in for a final blow was Dia. In one swift movement, she had thrown a red stone up in the air as she used the other hand to swing her sword. The gem fell against the hilt of the silver sword in midair and enveloped the blade with a powerful red light. The direction in which she swung her blade was right towards Chika’s head. 

Blood poured down into the floor as the blade sank deep into Chika’s skin. 

“I… got you now.” Chika spoke with difficulty as she glared at Dia. 

She had used her uninjured hand to stop Dia’s blade before it hit her. Dia’s sword sank deep into Chika’s hand with a powerful impact, but with this she could stop her movements for long enough. Chika then started to use her other hand to reach for Dia. The moment she touched her, it would be over. 

“Fine then!” But Dia did not fall back. Instead she began to use her free hand to reach for Chika. “Objects aren’t the only thing I can transform with alchemy! I will turn you to dust!!” 

 

And then, the sound of breaking glass resounded inside a small room. 

Kanan and Hanamaru stood at the end of an odd room as it became surrounded by smoke. Kanan released a blast of water with a punch to clear the way in front of them, but the girl that stood at the entrance of the room was now gone. 

“Tch. She got away.” Kanan complained. 

The ponytail girl used her arm to push Hanamaru back and guard her. Despite the girl being gone, the room was now filled with beasts that were freed from the test tubes.

“We need to go after her, zura!”

“I know!!”

Kanan jumped forward ready to fight the beasts. Despite them being destroyed by a single hit of the ponytail girl, many more beasts continued coming after them.

“Um, can you provide me support just for a moment?” Hanamaru asked. 

Kanan was confused but simply nodded. She stepped back, making sure she stayed close to Hanamaru. The beasts continued to jump at her with force but Kanan continued to repel them. 

“Please don’t step outside the circle.” Hanamaru stood still while she held the book in her hands. 

She could see the powerful waves of water dancing around the place as Kanan defeated beasts left and right. But she had to concentrate right now.

Kanan could hardly understand why were there so many of them as the number was way beyond the number of test tubes in this room. 

Hanamaru closed her eyes and began to focus. A yellow colored magic circle appeared beneath her feet as the book in her hands had started to glow. A yellow light then flowed out of the circle and spread throughout the room. It spread out everywhere except for the very center of the circle where Hanamaru and Kanan stood. 

Hanamaru brought her fist down against the book floating in front of her and the moment she made contact a massive blast of energy shot up from beneath the floor. The energy blasted apart all of the beasts, sending them against the roof and turning them to dust before they even made it all the way up. The amount of power was so great that Kanan could only stare at the many beasts that continued being warped into the room turning to dust the moment they appeared. It only took a minute before there was no sight of the beasts anymore. 

“Mission complete, zura!” Hanamaru sat down on the floor while breathing heavily. 

“That was amazing.” Kanan looked at the girl surprised. “Were you always this strong?”

“T-That was easy because the root of energy boosts up my magic!”

Kanan remained thoughtful for a moment. She understood that her power being boosted may have affected her but she doubted anyone would be able to pull this off even in those circumstances. 

“Zura…” Hanamaru then spoke in a nervous tone. “This is bad, this is really really bad!!” 

“What is it?!” 

“I can suddenly sense a really strong energy below it’s almost unnatural.”

“Huh? Is it the root of energy?”

“I don’t know, zura. But it’s all the way down below.”

 

And in the lowest room of the strange castle, a strong confrontation was taking place. 

Ten spears of lightning floated like an arc around the girl with purple hair. 

Riko and Yohane stepped forward, neither of them were about to back down at this point. 

The spears of lightning flew towards the girls as they charged towards their opponent. Seira was quick to attack. She was aware that she was outnumbered so she wasn’t about to give either of them an opening. She touched the floor to disappear and reappeared behind them. A blast of wind and fire came from where the girls were, consuming the spears of lightning. 

But then Yohane felt something getting grasp of her shoulder as Seira’s image appeared in front of her. 

Riko turned around but Yohane had already left her sight. She reappeared high up, almost close to the ceiling of the room. Seira sank her hands into Yohane’s shoulders as she poured out electricity into her body while forcing her down into the ground. 

“Yoshiko-!” The long haired girl called out to her the moment she heard the impact. 

“Heh, not bad.” Yohane laughed. Despite the damage she had taken, she wasn’t close to accepting defeat just yet. 

Yohane held Seira’s wrists tightly while forcing her hands away. Seira prepared to release a wave of lightning but her wrists soon became surrounded by fire. She used all her strength to pull away from Yohane the moment she felt the blazing heat on her skin but Riko used this chance to close their distance.

Seira turned around barely in time to see Riko’s figure moving closer. The purple haired girl was then blown away by powerful wind in an instant. 

“Are you okay?” Riko asked Yohane, helping her stand up.

“Of course I am. This is nothing for a deity of darkness like me, you should worry about yourself.” 

Despite the calm manner in which Yohane spoke, part of her cape had been burnt down by the discharge of electricity earlier and a small trail of smoke was leaving her body. 

Seira tried to regain her balance but her body was thrown up into the air as the ground below her feet became detached from the ground. Yohane counterattacked mercilessly, releasing a magic attack after the other. She released a wave of water followed by a strike of lightning that fell from above. She followed this with a surge of earth energy and another strike of lightning. 

The purple haired girl surrounded her body with electricity to shield herself but still received damage because of the consecutive attacks.

“H-How many kinds of magic can you use?!” Riko was shocked. For a moment she was reminded of the person in Chika’s book that was said to know all kinds of magic.

“I already told you it’s just my power as a fallen ang-”

“It’s a roulette.” Seira smirked. “She can’t use different kinds of magic at will. Otherwise there would be no need to send less effective attacks mixed in when she could have finished me off by constantly releasing something stronger.”

“What are you talking about? M-My powers are-!”

“They are luck based.” 

Yohane clicked her tongue. She could not bring herself to reply because she knew this person was right. Everything was randomized, it was up to luck.

“You can be a really troublesome opponent, you know that? I’ll just get rid of you first then.”

Yohane prepared herself, but she quickly became nervous. After all, she knew very well that she had the worst luck. 

Seira disappeared before her eyes and reappeared closer to Yohane. This time she reappeared while holding a spear of lightning in her hand. Riko tried moving closer in order to protect Yohane but three more spears of lightning had appeared out of nowhere and flew in her direction. Yohane pointed at the girl and a wave of wind energy shot against her. However, it was nowhere near as powerful as Riko’s wind. In fact, it barely had any effect on Seira at all. 

The purple haired girl was able to easily break through Yohane’s defenses. This time instead of reaching for her, Seira used the spear of lightning in her hand to stab Yohane. However something stopped Seira from being able to. She could see Yohane staring at her with a grin. This time she spoke with her regular and lighter voice. 

“My fallen angel magic may be a roulette but… I still can use my own magic as much as I want!!”

After she stated this, Seira looked at what stopped her spear. It was Yohane who held her with her hands. To be more precise, it was stopped by blue fire coming out of Yohane’s hands. The fire rapidly began to spread across the spear and towards Seira’s hands. She let go of her weapon and warped all the way to the back of the room to make sure Riko wouldn’t have the chance to attack her either.

Despite being a tough position, Seira smiled and spoke in her usual carefree tone.

“Let’s get serious then.”

Seira’s body was then surrounded by lightning. Riko and Yohane took fighting stances to prepare themselves for anything. 

Instead of lightning spears, waves of lightning spread from the spot where Seira was and across all the room, forming a strange circuit. 

The long haired girl couldn’t process what happened properly. The lightning spread through the floor and didn’t give her any safe spots to stand. The moment her feet stepped on the electricity her entire body was engulfed in lightning. Riko fell to the floor in pain but her hands only met more of the lightning waves that only enforced the strong attack throughout her body. 

Yohane who had already taken a lot more damage screamed in pain. She had collapsed to the floor as well taking the full impact of the attack. 

“Yo…shiko…” Riko murmured as she glanced at the girl that was lying on the floor next to her. 

_(This can’t be happening.)_

Riko felt frustrated. Her body wouldn’t react anymore thanks to all of the damage. There was no way for them to fight back, but that wasn’t all. She knew Seira wouldn’t kill her because she was still important to her, but what about this other girl? What about Yohane? 

(I can’t let this happen again.)

Riko felt all the memories from the past days flow into her mind. She remembered escaping to the town of Uchiura, meeting Chika, fighting the dragons and the massacre in the town thanks to Tsubasa. At that moment she had been entirely powerless and accepted to surrender. At that moment when everything was lost, they had managed to escape because of a girl that fought until the very end. 

“That’s right…” Riko whispered. “I have to fight until the very end.”

“Just give it up~” 

Seira walked freely across the room charged with electricity. She held a spear of lightning and stabbed Riko’s hand until the spear sank into the floor itself. Riko screamed in pain but Seira simply laughed in a carefree manner. 

“Hang in there for a bit, okay? I’ll take care of this girl real fast so I’ll be right back with you.”

Seira then turned her back to Riko and walked towards Yohane. 

The long haired girl couldn’t do much but watch as a massive surge of electricity covered Seira’s hand. It was obvious that she was planning to end it with this. Yohane stared at her with fear in her eyes. Her body was in constant pain because of the electricity and she couldn’t muster the strength to even run away.

Riko bit her lip in frustration. Was she just going to watch until the very end as more innocent people lost their lives because of her?

_(This isn’t the time to hesitate.)_

Riko let her mind fall blank. There was no need to overthink things anymore. There was no need to find any logic anymore. All she had to do was stand up and fight to her last breath. 

“I won’t let anyone get hurt anymore!!” She screamed out the thoughts deep inside her heart.

In that moment, the long haired girl was illuminated by a bright light. 

Seira turned around startled but her eyes were blinded for a second. And the next second, she felt a powerful blow in her stomach. Seira was sent flying up as all the air left her lungs. The circuit of lightning covering the room vanished in an instant. And then she saw her. She saw Riko who jumped high up and released another punch followed by a burst of wind that sent her crashing against the floor. 

Seira could almost feel her bones breaking from the sheer impact, but above all she felt fear. 

The image of the girl walking towards her reflected in her eyes. 

Riko’s long red-wine hair gracefully danced in the air as a current of wind flew around her. Her clothes had changed to a white and pink dress with a long ribbon on its back. 

“Idolization.” Riko spoke with a cold and serious tone. “Aquarium.”

The moment she stated these words, she shot forward at an inhuman speed. 

Seira slammed her hand against the floor to warp away but Riko was faster. She was blown up into air by wind and lost all sense of direction. She rapidly shrouded herself with electricity but she could barely reduce the impact as she was thrown back into the floor. 

The purple haired girl desperately tried to defend herself and shot out a large wall of electricity as Riko dashed towards her. Riko released a powerful punch forward which crashed against Seira’s shield. She could feel Seira’s lightning beginning to spread across her body but the shield quickly broke apart and the lightning dissipated. 

Seira couldn’t do anything but watch as Riko’s hand broke through the shield and reached for her. Riko’s hand tightly grasped Seira’s face and dragged her body across the wall with incredibly force before sending her flying towards the door at the end of the room. The door broke into pieces and Seira lied down on top of the rubble barely conscious.

“Are you satisfied now?” Riko spoke as her power slowly flew away with the wind. She returned to her usual clothes and the Love Gem in her neck went back to a dark color, but the wounds in her body had disappeared. 

Seira looked up at her while defeated in the floor. She couldn’t even bring herself to speak. 

“What… was that?” Yohane stared at Riko in shock. The blue haired bun girl slowly walked towards the place where Riko stood while limping a little. 

Now that the door that covered the way to the exit of the place was gone, they also got a clear view of what was outside. It wasn’t the forest. What was outside this door was a strange structure. It looked almost like some sort of underground ruin. The entire place was made of white stones, and there was a massive stairway behind the door. The stairs led all the way down to a wide rectangular area in the middle. And from there the stairs spread all the way up again in a rectangular shape. 

However what called their attention the most is how the place was all shrouded by a powerful yellow light. The light seemed to come from the center of the place but it was hard to tell due to how blinding it was. 

“Give me a hand.” Riko sighed. “We should tie her up or something.”

“R-Right.” 

Yohane looked around and took off her cape realizing that there wasn’t anything else they could use nearby. The two girls looked tired but relieved that the battle was finally over. 

As the two girls relaxed, Seira smirked. 

Seira had been utterly defeated, there was no doubt about that, but there was something really simple that she had to do in order to get away. She just placed the palm of her hand against the floor. 

Before either of them could react, Seira was already out of their sight. She had disappeared and reappeared all the way down below where the source of light was coming from. 

“Wha-?!”

Riko and Yohane both stepped into the ruins confused. 

In that moment a powerful noise resounded behind them. Rubble fell from above, along with Kanan who had forced her way down while carrying Hanamaru.

The ponytail girl and the brunette ran towards Riko desperately. 

“Zuramaru?!” Yohane yelled out in shock.

“You have to stop her, zura!!”

“Huh?”

“Riko! We know there’s someone down there, don’t let her reach the root of Legendary Power!!” Kanan yelled as she ran.

Riko and Yohane quickly reacted and dashed towards the bottom of the ruins. They tried to reach Seira with all their might but Seira simply laughed. It was already too late. Seira placed her hands on the core of light in the center of the ruins and her body rapidly became enveloped by it. 

The moment this happened, all the light surrounding the place gathered in the center. It gathered around Seira. 

The purple haired girl let out a loud scream as the light started to enter her body. Followed by this, the very earth began to tremble. 

“Now you’ve done it.” Seira slowly spoke. “You’ve made me take the Legendary Power all for myself!” 

The purple haired girl began laughing out loud as her body radiated with energy. She was enveloped by a bright yellow light and energy pulsated out of her body making the earth tremble around her.

The four girls stared at the terrible incident happening before them. 

“In this case we have no choice.” Kanan spoke as she stepped forward followed by Hanamaru. “We are going to have to stop her.”

“Be careful.” Yohane warned her. “Seira is extremely powerful. I could sense it when I faced her.”

“You have to be very careful when fighting her.” Riko added. “We have to match her strength.”

“Match me?” Seira yawned. “You are overestimating your chances.”

The four girls became wary, but Seira brought a hand to her forehead for a moment feeling a little dazed.

“What happened? She’s moving strangely. Is this part of her fighting style too, zura?”

“Earth is not my magic alignment after all. I need to finish this fast.” Seira whispered under her breath before raising her voice. “Come on, I’ll take you all at once!” 

 

At the same time, deep inside the castle, Ruby could feel her heartbeat slowing down. She was not aware of anything anymore. Everything was dark and fuzzy. Her consciousness floated up in the middle of nowhere. 

“What… am I doing?” She could hear her own thoughts out loud. 

Ruby had lost all sense of direction. What was she doing right now? She could feel her body moving onward but she didn’t feel like she was conscious about controlling it.

In the midst of the strange void, despite feeling so lost and helpless, Ruby felt like there was still something she could cling unto. She could feel that as long as she protected that something, as long as she still hung tightly unto it, that everything would be okay in the end. 

The red pigtail girl slowly walked forward, she walked across the path her sister had taken. 

And on the other side of the maze, Dia had steeled herself to end this confrontation. She had shot projectiles at Chika, and by adjusting her timing, they stabbed into the orange haired girl’s hand. Now that she was close enough it was time to end it all. 

She swung her blade at Chika as she powered it up, the force was enough to end someone’s life with one hit but Chika stopped her blade with her bare hands. 

All Chika had to do was to touch her. If she did that, Dia would end up with the same kind of curse Ruby was under. All Dia had to do was to touch Chika, the moment she did she could activate her alchemy and destroy Chika’s body in an instant. 

The two moved their hands towards each other. It was a confrontation that had no happy end no matter what the result was. 

But then, someone stood before them. It was Ruby who had made her way towards the place where both of them stood. She had subconsciously walked all the way there. Her body was almost entirely consumed, and it was hard to even see her figure behind the dark aura enveloping her, but then she spoke. Just for an instant, Ruby managed to get a hold of her consciousness and yelled from the top of her lungs. 

“You have to stop this, she isn’t a bad person!! Chika is Ruby’s friend!!!”

Hearing this made Dia hesitate. She stopped her hand in midair just centimeters away from Chika. The orange haired girl also stood still in shock, her hand was close enough to reach Dia without any single amount of effort. 

Ruby collapsed into the floor once more, but they were not given time to start fighting again. The very earth beneath them started to tremble. A powerful tremor hit the castle and the floor beneath them crumbled apart. 

Dia pulled her sword away and reached for Ruby. She held Ruby’s body in her arms and then stabbed the sword into the walls to stop herself from falling down. The moment she did this, it didn’t take long for the black aura covering Ruby’s body to start spreading into her arms, but she didn’t care. 

The one that didn’t have much luck however was Chika who fell into the abyss without being able to do anything about it. 

 

“W-What is going on, zura?!”

As the ground trembled, rubble started falling from above and onto the stairs in the ruins as part of the building began to collapse not far away from them. 

They stared in shock but Kanan let out a gasp the moment she saw something falling between the rubble. To be more accurate, she saw someone falling. 

She did not think about whether or not she could make it. She just knew she had to. 

She propelled herself at a high speed using water beneath her feet and caught the falling figure in midair. Kanan then landed in the floor while holding Chika in her arms. 

The orange haired girl was full of wounds but the moment her eyes met with Kanan she smiled.

“Ah… you are okay. I’m glad.” 

“Don’t give me that!! What happened?!”

Followed by this, another figure appeared from above. It was the black haired girl who held Ruby in her arms. Half of her body was already covered with a dark aura but she continued to resist it with sheer willpower. 

“Dia?!” Kanan and Hanamaru both yelled at the same time. 

But Dia did not have time for a warm reunion. She spoke desperately as she held Ruby’s body tightly. 

“You have to help her! You have to help Ruby!!”

“Ruby…?” Hanamaru’s body grew cold. She had not realized what the strange mass surrounded by a dark energy in Dia’s arms was, but taking a closer look she could see all too well.

Yohane slowly hid behind Riko’s back at the sight of Dia. Riko on the other hand was confused, there were too many things happening at once and she couldn’t understand anything. She couldn’t do anything but watch as Hanamaru ran to tend at the sisters while Kanan tried to check on Chika. 

Dia put Ruby down for Hanamaru to check on her. The brunette didn’t care if the dark aura began spreading towards her hands as well. She knew she had to do something about it. And this is when something called her attention. Once she managed to reach Ruby’s hands, she was holding something tightly inside her hand. It was a Love Gem. 

Riko was in shock and knew all of this was worth her attention but…

“So all the gang is here huh?” Seira spoke. 

Hearing Seira’s voice made Riko instantly tense up. She knew very well that this was their biggest problem right now. And despite having a lot of people here, it was clear that none of them were in a good state to put up a fight. 

Riko held her Love Gem tightly with her hand but she knew she couldn’t use it again right away.

“I don’t appreciate being ignored.” Seira scratched her head. “Not that it matters once everyone is dead anyway.”

Seira jumped with incredible force. She had enough power to rival Riko’s Love Gem transformation. Riko couldn’t even move as the image of Seira charging at them reflected in her eyes. 

But then Seira’s body was bounced back all the way to the bottom of the ruins with incredible force. Dust flew up the moment her body landed. No one had managed to see what happened, and this is when one last person entered the room.

You Watanabe stepped forward. 

She wore a white top with a frilly blue skirt and a white ribbon on her back. The clothes resembled those Riko had when she used her Love Gem, but You also had a tiara on top of her head. 

“You?!” Riko was quick to react the moment she saw this. “Hurry! You need to chant out the name of the transformation or it’s going to fade away and you won’t be able to use the gem again!”

“Aquarium?”

“Yes. But you need to be aware of this: it represents a fantastic encounter. It means being true to your feelings, to put them on display for everyone to see, just like colorful fishes in an aquarium. You have to keep this in mind when you chant it or it won’t work. ”

“Riko.” This time You returned the long haired girl her words. “Protect Chika.”

“R-Right.”

“Heh.” Seira stood up again. “Are you the daughter of that captain? Even if you use that, what are some bubbles going to do?”

“So the room up there was yours after all.”

“Oh, are you mad because you found out some things about the aquarium project? Oops, my bad.”

“What do you know about that project?”

“Don’t you get it? It’s simple. The town of Uchiura was our aquarium. A simple place where we can observe everyone and use them once we need to.” Seira shrugged. “If you need more details you will need to ask Tsubasa.”

“…” 

You didn’t respond and simply continued to slowly walk down the stairs.

She felt conflicted for a moment. She didn’t really understand Riko’s explanation earlier, but if what she said was true, then she needed to chant out the words or her fighting chance would be over. On the other hand, the fact that these people had such a morbid project behind the same name, the fact that Riko had fled into the town of Uchiura. Could she even trust her? It was a heavy decision that she had no more time to make.

Kanan was confused about what they were talking about, but a disturbing thought crossed her head. If they were willing to use people from Uchiura, then those test tubes from earlier could have been… then all those monsters they fought could have also been…

In that moment, Riko felt as if the temperature in the room had started to fall down. Like the environment around her had grown much colder. 

You had finally made a decision. 

In the end it wasn’t something she had to think too hard about. She knew Chika trusted Riko, therefore, she knew she could trust Riko as well. That was all there was to it. That was what it meant for her to be true to her feelings. 

“Idolization: Aquarium.” She stated loudly and shot forward towards Seira.

The purple haired girl who was powered up by incredibly energy dashed towards You. She knew she had nothing to be scared about. She knew she had the means to fight back.

But this is where she was mistaken. Seira’s movements came to a sudden halt. The area around her feet had become frozen solid. Once she took a better glance at You, she could feel a cold feeling spreading throughout her entire body. 

The gray haired girl launched a punch towards Seira. She used her hand to catch the impact, but her hand became frozen solid in the spot as well. 

Seira used her lightning to break apart from You’s ice and then slammed her feet against the ground. Spears started to shoot from deep below the earth but You gracefully dodged them all. The gray haired girl continued moving in closer. Her body simply dodged all the attacks coming at her without having to think too much about it. A strange and warm feeling enveloped her. 

She could finally protect someone. She could finally stand up and fight for what she believes in. She had nothing to be scared about. She wasn’t scared to put her feelings in display. After all, she had nothing to hide. What she wanted the most was to protect Chika. All she wanted was to be there for her. 

And these feelings translated into power. It didn’t matter how strong Seira was. It didn’t matter what she did. None of her attacks were able to hit You. All she had to do now was to go full speed ahead. 

And then, the temperature in the room dropped even further. Magic energy concentrated in You’s hands and with one final hit. Her fist sank deep into Seira’s face. The girl’s body was completely frozen over as she collapsed against the floor. 

The moment of impact the ice around her body broke apart and the energy that surrounded her body broke down as well, rendering her completely powerless. It was over.


	11. Oblivion Forest - Part 1

With a resounding impact, You’s fist slammed Seira down into the solid ground. Her body was completely frozen solid for a few seconds after contact, but the ice shattered once she collapsed. Along with this, all the energy that surrounded her body broke away and dissipated around the air, illuminating the place once more. 

“It’s over.” You spoke as she stepped closer, her body now shining brightly thanks to the light that enveloped the environment. “You have to tell me everything you know now. Every. Single. Thing.”

“There’s… no need to.” Seira couldn’t move anymore, she had difficulty letting her voice out, but her spirit was far from breaking apart, she was far from giving in so easily. 

“What is that supposed to mean? Do you understand your position?” The gray haired girl was growing frustrated. 

“I’ll tell you what she means.” A cold and emotionless voice spoke. 

A girl with purple hair tied up in pigtails stood before them. Unlike Seira, this girl showed no emotion in her face at all. Her eyes glared at all the girls with hatred pouring out of them. 

“There is no need to answer because this is as far as you all get.” 

Having said these words, the girl pulled out a book and opened it.

“Zura! That’s the sample of Legendary Power!”

“You!” Kanan yelled at the gray haired girl. “You need to take that back!!”

“You don’t have to tell me!!” You replied as she ran forward. 

The gray haired girl moved at an incredible speed. She gathered her power in her fist as she jumped forward towards the girl, but then, the power of the gem faded away. You’s clothes returned to normal and the gem in her hand faded into a dark color. 

But the young sailor girl did not let that stop her. She clenched her fist as tight as she could and launched a punch towards the purple pigtail girl. 

In that moment, a large amount of energy exploded. It was the energy that had spread across the room moments ago. It exploded as it all gathered on the book that the girl was holding. 

“You!” 

Riko ran forward, catching the girl that was blasted away in midair before her body crashed against the solid stairs. 

Kanan knew she had to act now, but the pulsating energy coming from the book was so strong that her entire body was being pushed back. It was as if the gravity inside the room had gotten heavier and everyone was being forced away. 

You rapidly stood up again, ready to force her way through. Kanan prepared to launch a kick and try to get them with a long range attack. But the one to react first was Dia.

“As if…” She spoke as she stood up. Despite half of her body being enveloped by a dark aura, the alchemist stood up and yelled with anger. “As if I would let you escape!!”

She slammed her foot against the floor and a trail of spikes shot forward from beneath the ground. The spikes ran at full speed against the girl holding the book, but she simply smirked. All it took was for Seira to tap her fingers against the girl’s leg. In that small second, the two girls had warped away, taking all the energy from the root of power with them. 

Dia fell to the floor, slamming her fist down in frustration as the light faded away, leaving them enveloped by an eerie silence. 

It didn’t take long for the dark energy to spread further across Dia’s body. No matter how much she tried to endure it, she couldn’t even stand up as the energy consumed her further.

“Dia!” Kanan yelled and tried to run towards the girl but her path was blocked by You.

“Wait Kanan, this is just like back with Tsubasa.” The gray haired girl spoke. “I don’t know what this is, but if it’s the same thing, it’s just going to spread more if you touch her.”

“I know that! But you can’t just expect me to stand here and watch!”

“But you can’t just act without thinking! If it spreads even more we are all going to end just like everyone else back in the village!” 

“You is right.” Riko added. “I’m not saying to let her be as it is, but we need to think things through properly and-”

“Wait… Kanan.” The one to speak this time was Chika. The orange haired girl jumped out of Kanan’s arms and slowly walked forward while barely being able to stand. “This is my fault so I have to do something about it.”

“What are you talking about?!”

“Everyone… shut up zura!!!!” Hanamaru yelled, and the room instantly felt silent. 

The brunette had used all her strength to place Dia’s body next to Ruby who continued to suffer thanks to the same cause. The energy had already spread across Hanamaru’s arms but the brunette endured the pain. 

“I’m going to do something about it, so just be quiet and let me concentrate.”

Hanamaru spread her arms as her book floated in front of her. The pages of the book began running at a high speed as a yellow magic circle appeared on the floor, surrounding Hanamaru as well as the sisters.

The brunette had a really hard time channeling her magic. Her concentration was placed entirely on healing the sisters, but the pain running through her body was only becoming harsher with every second. 

And then, something started floating on top of the book. It was the Love Gem she had found in Ruby’s hand. The gem continued to float high across the air while standing in the middle of the circle. Hanamaru had no idea whether or not this would work. She did not understand the basis behind it properly. But it wasn’t the time to hesitate. It wasn’t a matter of whether it’d work or not, it was a matter of making it work no matter what. 

With a powerful spark of light, the Love Gem engulfed the area with a blinding light that made all the girls look away. In that moment, all the dark energy surrounding the girls was pulled into the gem. 

Hanamaru kneeled down exhausted. Her book fell to the floor next to her, and a blacked out Love Gem fell next to the book. 

Ruby had passed out, but Dia still had enough energy to sit down on the floor while breathing heavily. It had been a success.

“Ruby?” Dia turned around to check on her younger sister and sighed in relief once she realized she was only sleeping now. 

“Dia.” Kanan spoke as she stood in front of the black haired girl. “What is going on?”

“That should be my line!!” Dia stood up annoyed. “What are YOU doing here?!”

“That’s… kind of a long story.” Kanan scratched her head. 

Dia then moved her sight towards Chika and Yohane. Both girls jumped up startled and rapidly hid behind You and Riko respectively. 

“I will need you to explain down to the very last detail.”

“Sure sure.” Kanan sighed.

“I believe most of us need to get some rest, so how about we change locations first?” Riko suggested.

Dia stared curiously at the long haired girl for a moment, and her eyes opened wide the moment something clicked inside her.

“Wait a moment... the princess?!”

Riko looked away not knowing how to react but then she could feel a hand reaching for her shoulder. It was You who stared at her with a scary look in her face. 

“Riko. I think _someone_ has a lot of explaining to do as well, right?”

“R…Right.”

☆

Inside the ship, Dia put Ruby down on one of the beds and covered her with a blanket. Looking at her sister peacefully sleeping made it seem like all that happened before wasn’t real.

In the meantime, Kanan pushed Chika into the room next door.

“Now you go get some rest too.”

“Eh? But I don’t need to-!”

Kanan simply poked Chika’s shoulder, making the orange haired girl let out a small scream in pain.

“Get. Some. Rest.” 

The ponytail girl pushed her into the bed.

“Fine…” Chika pouted, covering herself with a blanket. 

Once Dia walked out of the room, she stared at the girls that waited outside. Her eyes trailed towards Riko, You and then… towards a certain fallen angel.

“Where have I seen you before…?” Dia brought a hand to her chin.

“I-I just remembered I’m not feeling too well!! Ha…Hahaha….I’ll get some rest too!” 

Yohane quickly ran for it and locked herself in one of the rooms.

“Nah, there is no way.” Dia shook her head.

After reuniting with Kanan, the remaining girls walked away towards what looked like a dining room. Dia and Hanamaru sat across Kanan, You and Riko as the girls started to explain everything that happened so far. Kanan told Dia her side of the story, how she was to evacuate the girls by the captain’s orders. While You explained their side, about how they ended up fighting dragons, and in the end, both explained all the events that led to their reunion with Dia.

“I see.” Dia remained lost in thought while trying to process all the information. “There is still something I haven’t received an explanation for.”

“What is it?” Kanan tilted her head confused. 

Riko couldn’t help but to nervously fidget with her fingers as she felt Dia’s gaze locking up into her. 

“What is the princess doing here?”

“Hahaha come on…” Riko laughed nervously. “Do I look like a princess to you?”

Dia stared at her in silence for a few seconds before giving her a simple and straightforward answer.

“You do.”

Riko looked away feeling defeated. Even with this small interaction, this person’s intensity was something Riko had never experienced before. It was true that Chika was also a rather intense person, but both had very similar and yet, opposite auras to them.

“Um…” Hanamaru slowly tapped on Dia’s shoulder. “Can I say something, zura?”

“What is it?” The black haired girl moved her sight towards the brunette. 

Hanamaru made a gesture, making her get closer so she could whisper into her ear.

(“We may have a really bad situation in our hands.”)

(“What do you mean?”)

(“Since they took away the root of energy, the forest is already starting to die.”)

(“Huh?”)

(“But this is Aokigahara* we are talking about. It wouldn’t be uncommon for the forest to start sucking up our life energy to try and restore itself, zura.”)

“What did you say?!” Dia let out a sudden scream.

Kanan glared at her suspiciously but Dia tried to compose herself while pretending nothing happened. 

“Ahem.” Dia stood up. “Hanamaru, come with me for a moment.”

“Zura!” 

The brunette followed Dia outside the dining room and into the hall.

“Hanamaru. What is this about the forest taking our life energy?”

“It’s just like it sounds, zura. The forest uses Legendary Power to live. We all have some Legendary Power, like the one I use for my magic and what you use for your alchemy, but I don’t think the forest would stop by taking only that away. After all it lost too great an amount of energy and besides… it wouldn’t be the first time that happens.”

“Not the first time?”

“I-It’s nothing, zura! Anyway, you know what this forest is famous for, right?”

“I have heard the rumors, yes.”

“Then it wouldn’t be strange if that happened. I don’t want to think about it, but it’d make sense if the root of power in the forest was made by taking the lives of many people.”

“What?! T-That’s…”

“I-I can’t say for sure, it’s just a theory, zura!”

“Either way. We have to get out of this forest immediately. Please guide our way out.”

“I know!” Hanamaru frowned. “But that’s kind of a problem.”

“Why?”

“The root is gone. If I can’t feel the flow of energy in the forest, I can’t use my magic to guide us.”

“And what about the map I sent with Ruby?”

Hanamaru shook her head. 

“Everything in our base here got destroyed when the castle appeared. I… don’t know how the machine works, but I saw it all broken. Can you fix it with your alchemy?”

This time it was Dia who shook her head.

“If I don’t know the details of the map, I can’t reconstruct it properly.” The black haired girl stopped to think before taking a deep breath. “Fine then! We have no choice, I’m going to find a way out of this forest myself!” 

“There you go again, taking everything upon yourself.” Kanan leaned against the wall as she crossed her arms.

“S…Since when have you been listening?!”

“Since the very start.” The ponytail girl glared at Dia.

“She’s really bad at being discreet.” You whispered as she peaked from the door frame along with Riko.

“Anyway!” Dia placed her hands on her hips. “This doesn’t change the fact I have to do something about it!”

“You can rely on me some more you idiot!” Kanan walked forward and pulled of Dia’s cheeks.

“Look who is talking! I don’t want to hear this from you of all people!” Dia retaliated by pulling of Kanan’s cheeks with a lot more force.

“We are doomed.” Riko sighed as she plopped down into the floor. 

“…”

You walked away while Kanan and Dia argued in the background. A few minutes later she returned while pulling the blue bun girl by her arm.

“Here, maybe she can help.”

“Hm?!” Kanan and Dia both turned around and glared at Yohane who slowly stepped back.

“You can summon your bird, right?” You spoke towards the fallen angel. “Maybe it can guide us out of the forest.”

“We are doomed!!” Riko cried out. 

“Y-You want me to summon my little demon? I have no choice then. Of course I can do that hahaha...”

And then, the girls stood on the deck of the ship. They stepped back as Yohane stepped forward. 

The fallen angel placed a hand in front of her face as she extended out her arm. 

“I command your advent in the name of the fallen angel, come my little demon!”

But nothing happened except for a small breeze of wind that ran by.

“…” 

Everyone stared at her at a loss for words.

“T-This is why I told you it wouldn’t work.” Riko sighed. “Her magic works like a roulette.”

“So…” You stared at the fallen angel in disbelief. “You are telling me that summoning that bird last time was entirely out of luck?”

“Yes.”

“W…W…Why are you all looking at me like that?! I will show you my power! I-”

“It’s okay, zura.” Hanamaru placed her hand on Yohane’s shoulder. “You tried so it’s all that matters.”

“H-Hearing you say that isn’t making me feel any better!!”

“Where have I seen this girl before…?” Dia was lost in thought for a moment before she remembered the current situation. “Anyway! This just means we have to hurry and find a way out!” 

The black haired girl then jumped off the deck of the ship. The ship was stuck at the entrance of the castle after Chika and Ruby crashed it to enter. Dia simply placed her hands on the walls, making them dissipate into dust, and freeing the ship. 

Now that they got a clearer view of the forest, it was a lot more evident that it was indeed starting to die out. The green of the trees was rapidly fading away into a dull brown color, and the branches were starting to dry up. If the damage had spread this fast, there was no telling when would the forest reach its limit and start to use them as food to recover its energy. 

“Kanan.” The black haired girl spoke as she turned around to stare into Kanan’s violet eyes. “Fine, I will need your help.”

“That’s more like it! What’s the plan?”

“This forest is dangerous, if we move around in a large group there is no guarantee we are all making it out. So we are going to make use of this ship.”

“The ship?” Kanan stared curiously at the black haired girl as she walked closer to the ship.

Dia pulled out a sapphire from her pocket and placed it against the front of the ship. With a golden light, a powerful drill appeared and attached itself to the ship. After that, Dia threw four more gems into the air and broke them apart with her sword. The broken halves became attached to the ship, taking the shape of small circles that glowed with a strong light.

“These will function similar to magnets.” Dia started to explain. “Hanamaru and I will go and find a way out of the forest. Once we do, I will set it up so those gems merge with the halves I have in my hands, thus, pulling the entire ship towards the exit.”

“Can you really do it just like that? With those small gems?”

“Kanan, alchemy is powerful, way more powerful than magic.” 

“Wait a second.” Riko interrupted. “If you can do something like forcing the ship to move across the forest with everyone inside, then, can’t we just keep running into any random direction until we make it out?”

“I wish it was so simple. We are using my alchemy as “fuel” to make the ship move. Even someone like me doesn’t have that much energy. Suppose we do that and I run out of power before we make it out, or we go to the wrong direction, where do we go from there? We don’t have the time to experiment around.”

“In that case.” The long haired girl still wasn’t fully convinced about Dia’s plan. “What happens if you run out power while pulling us through regardless if it’s the right path?”

“That is why I need Kanan’s help.” 

“So if you run out fuel, I’m in charge of making sure everyone makes it out, huh?”

“I hope your magic hasn’t grown dull.”

“Of course not!” Kanan stared at her and smiled. “You can leave it to me!”

Dia smiled back at Kanan before turning her back on the girls and walking forward.

“Very well. We don’t have any more time to waste. Hanamaru, let’s go.” 

“Z-Zura!” 

Hanamaru quickly followed behind the black haired girl. 

“Is this really going to be okay?” Riko couldn’t help but feel uneasy as the two girls walked deeper into the forest of death.

The moment Hanamaru stepped into the forest, her body was assaulted by an eerie feeling. Despite having been in this place a lot lately, it felt entirely different. 

The brunette walked forward while following Dia’s back. She knew Dia had chosen her as backup because she knew she could rely in her, so Hanamaru wouldn’t let her down. She had to do her best. 

She had to do her best, but… what was this feeling? It was as if her hands and legs were rapidly getting cold. 

The deeper they got into the forest, the quieter it’d get. There was nothing but trees that slowly continued to decay all around them. Leaves had started to fall and get carried by the wind as if it was autumn. The moment the wind caressed Hanamaru’s skin, she felt as though something inside her stomach grew colder. She couldn’t shake away a sinking feeling in her gut as all her senses were screaming at her to get away from there as fast as possible. 

“What’s wrong, Hanamaru?” 

Dia stopped for a moment to look at the girl who was looking pale.

“I-It’s okay, zura!” Hanamaru shook her head but then noticed Dia looked just as pale. 

The black haired girl was good at hiding it and pretended that everything was okay, but Hanamaru could tell she didn’t look okay at all.

“What about you?”

“I am perfectly fine. Let’s hurry.” Dia tried to speak in a calm manner, but Hanamaru could tell her voice was shaking by the end. 

Hanamaru was quickly losing her sense of direction. She had gotten so used to the energy in the forest, that now it felt like being inside a giant maze. All she could do was to trust Dia’s instincts and hope that they would find an exit soon. 

On top of that, the deeper in they moved, the more the landscape changed. The roots in the floor were a lot more tangled and it became more difficult to walk around. Hanamaru looked to her side, only to see a small torn up umbrella stuck on one of the tree’s branches. She couldn’t tell why, but the moment she saw it, she felt as though she stopped breathing for just a second.

After this, every time she stepped forward, every time her feet touched the ground, she felt a strange pulse enveloping her body. 

Dia in the meantime, continued to lead the way forward. She was trying her best to conserve her energy, but deep inside she wanted to use her alchemy and blast apart all the trees at once. However, she also knew that doing that may just be a big mistake. She had to calm down. She took a deep breath as she continued to proceed across the forest. 

She was the elder daughter of the Kurosawa family after all. She was the famous Birthstone Alchemist. She had the responsibility to protect her sister, and to get everyone out of this forest alive including the princess. Dia was well aware of the responsibility that she was taking on, but things weren’t progressing as smoothly as she wanted. 

The black haired girl paid close attention to the environment around her. She paid close attention to every single tree, to every single branch to make sure they wouldn’t walk in circles and to try and find clues. She knew she had to focus, and yet, she felt herself getting rapidly lightheaded. 

(What is this feeling?)

She rubbed her forehead with her hand to try and shake away the sudden dizziness that attacked her. 

(You have to keep yourself together, Dia.)

She repeated the same phrase all over again in her head, but she could hardly keep herself together. She felt cold sweat roll down her forehead, and felt difficulty breathing with every step. It was as if her whole body was enveloped by a strange pressure. 

She noticed that the landscape changed even more. She couldn’t deduce whether or not this was a good sign. On one hand it proved that they weren’t walking in circles. But in the other hand… how big was this forest? Were they just going deeper in or were they walking towards the exit? 

Not only was the amount of trees more spread out, but beneath the tangled roots, there were small holes on the ground leading to eerie underground entrances. All she could think about is that these connected to that strange area where the root of energy had been located. 

Maybe the lesser amount of trees was a good sign after all. After all she should remember how the entrance was like the first time she arrived. At the time Hanamaru had made it easy to navigate, so she would surely not forget how the entrance looked like. She wouldn’t but…

(What was the entrance like?)

Dia stopped moving for a moment. She placed a hand over her forehead as she felt the environment around her spinning. 

(Why can’t I remember?)

And then she turned around to speak to the other girl.

“Hanamaru. Do you recall what the entrance of the forest was like…?”

But her voice trailed off once she realized something.

“Hanamaru?”

There was no response.

“Hanamaru?!” 

She raised her voice and looked all around her but she couldn’t see a glimpse of the girl that had been following her. 

“Hanamaru answer me!!”

This is when a somber thought reached her. If Hanamaru was gone, what were the footsteps she had been hearing behind her up till now?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Aokigahara (青木ヶ原) - The name of this location already came up in the letter from Tsubasa that You found a few chapters ago. However, I felt like it was a good time to properly expand on this for anyone that didn't know yet. 
> 
> This is a large forest located close to Mt. Fuji famous for being known as the Suicide Forest or the Sea of Trees. There is a lot of different rumors around this forest be it about paranormal phenomena or about the reasons why the forest is known with the name its known as. If you want to look up more details about this forest I'd just like to warn you in advice that you may find some very somber or disturbing things so please proceed with caution.


	12. Oblivion Forest - Part 2

Dia Kurosawa stood all alone deep in the sea of trees. 

The girl that had been following her disappeared without a trace and no matter how much she called out to her, there was no response. 

The black haired girl stopped walking for a moment. What should she do now? No. It’s not like she had much choice. The direction where Hanamaru was and the direction where the exit of the forest was were both things she didn’t really know. In the end, just standing here wouldn’t take her anywhere. 

Dia slowly continued walking forward into the forest, but there was something making her uneasy. She had checked all her surroundings seconds ago and there was nothing in sight, but as she walked forward, she could listen to the sound of faint footsteps right behind her. 

She turned her head around, but there was nothing except for a maze of decaying trees surrounding her. 

“What am I doing?” She shook her head. “There is no way anything is following me.”

She took a deep breath and continued making her way onwards. 

The moment she resumed walking, the sound of steps behind her resumed as well. This was making her grow increasingly uneasy, but she was trying to convince herself that it was just her imagination. 

Thanks to all the past events, she had not managed to keep the track of time so she was surprised once the trees were tinted in a red light. She was not able to see the sky at all thanks to the cape of trees that spread all above her, but she could tell the sun was already starting to set in the horizon. 

As she moved onward into the forest, she was able to perceive another change. There were many ribbons of different colors attached to the trunks of the trees. The ribbons seemed to be very old and most of them were cut off. She was aware that these ribbons were a common thing in this forest. In fact it was said that people would use them to prevent getting lost and finding a way out. If she was to find an exit, this was her best bet. This meant she was on the right path, but she didn’t feel too happy about it. 

In fact, even if these ribbons were helpful to find a way out, there was something somber about them. Something that made her feel uneasy and sick. 

Being an alchemist, there was a lot of meaning behind items. Even if it was something small like a ribbon, an item would still have the essence of its owner in it. It would still have a faint essence of anyone that came in contact with it. As an alchemist, her power was to create something using her own essence. A regular person wouldn’t be able to see it, but every item in the world was overflowing with the energies and emotions of their creators and their owners. 

The black haired girl then stepped closer to one of the trees. She felt relief for just a moment as the footsteps behind her stopped the moment she stopped moving. For now, maybe she could find some information by examining the ribbons. Maybe the colors meant something, maybe the state they were in also meant something. She knew very well what the fate of most of the owners must have been, but she couldn’t let go of her only clue. 

Dia slowly removed the long white glove covering her right hand and reached for the ribbon with her fingers. It was a torn up ribbon of light blue color. She touched it with the intent of examining it, but a powerful stinging pain enveloped her the moment she did. It wasn’t physical pain, but emotional. 

She instantly let go of the ribbon and kneeled down on the floor. She couldn’t comprehend what happened at all. The black haired girl covered her mouth while breathing heavily. She felt a strange and powerful burst of emotions exploding inside her, and not knowing why, tears rolled down her eyes. 

(You have to put yourself together.)

She clenched her fist and did her absolute best to try and compose herself. After putting her glove back on, she wiped away her tears and took a deep breath. It was time to move on. But… it wasn’t so easy after that. It was as if the true meaning of this forest weighted a lot more heavily on her now. 

Everything around her started feeling a lot more eerie, it was as if an ill intent of malevolence was constantly sprouting out of all the decaying greenery around her.  


Dia jumped up startled as she felt something slowly reaching for her skin, but she quickly realized it was just rain, something very usual and constant in this forest.

As the rain started to fall, the night also arrived. Minutes later, Dia found herself completely enveloped by darkness. She slowly reached for her pocket, turning a stone into a small flashlight using her alchemy. She was trying to keep the consumption of her power to a minimum but she had no choice if she wanted to proceed. 

The moment the light on her flashlight turned on, the first thing that came into her field of vision was the head of an old doll lying by the trunk of a tree. She could feel the eyes of the doll staring at her intently, and she couldn’t tell if it was her imagination but she was almost certain that the doll smiled at her for just a second. 

Dia rapidly looked away, trying to proceed a little faster, but her feet came to a sudden halt as the sound of a small child crying resounded in the distance. 

“Is there anyone there?”

She moved the flashlight towards the direction where she heard the noise, and there was the doll, staring right at her once more. Dia felt a cold sweat rolling down her forehead. She was certain that wasn’t the direction were that doll originally was. 

The sound she had heard just now quieted down, but the sudden silence just made her feel even more nervous. 

Navigating this forest was already bad as it was, but navigating the forest in this darkness made everything much worse. The footing was extremely unsteady thanks to the tree roots, and the rain was making everything a lot more slippery. As the trees continued to decay, more and more leaves fell down, blocking part of her field of vision. On top of that, with only a flashlight to illuminate her way, she started to feel like she was barely making progress. 

As the light in her hand illuminated the path onward, shadows extended from the trunks of the trees. Dia was convinced it was just her imagination, but she felt as though shadows with humanoid forms would suddenly move in the distance and hide behind the trees. This is the moment where anyone would turn around and run away, but Dia knew she couldn’t afford to do that. She gripped the flashlight tightly and steeled herself as she forced her body to move forward. 

(It is not unusual for my brain to play tricks and see illusions in a situation like this. Be strong, Dia. There is nothing to be scared about.)

She continued to follow the ribbons placed on the tree trunks. She moved onward while enveloped by darkness and absolute silence. A cold feeling spreading throughout her body with every step as she moved onward. And then, she felt her feet lightly hitting against something. 

Dia moved her flashlight downwards to take a closer look and noticed her feet had hit against a human skull. The black haired girl rapidly jumped back as goose bumps covered her skin. And then, she saw words carved into the tree just in front of her. She slowly approached the tree to take a better look at those words. 

_If you are reading this, no matter what you do, no matter who you are, don’t look behind you._

To Dia’s dismay, the sound of footsteps behind her resumed. This time she felt the footsteps approaching closer and closer. Without second thought, she started to run for it, but the steps behind her ran after her. She felt a cold breeze against the back of her neck, as if someone had blown air from up close, and then, she felt something lightly touching her shoulder. 

Dia had no way to know, but not too long before this happened…

 

“Dia?” Hanamaru called out to the black haired girl. 

She felt an intense pain hit her head as she looked around confused. She had made sure to follow closely behind Dia’s back all this time. She was sure she never took her eyes away from the black haired girl, but she was suddenly gone. 

“Dia? Where did you go?”

The only response Hanamaru got were the eerie cries of strange birds deep inside the forest. 

“…Zura…”

The brunette looked around. She felt at a complete loss. Her sense of direction had completely broken down and she ended up all alone. 

In the midst of the silence, a strange noise reached Hanamaru’s ears. It was a groaning noise, as if someone was in pain, but she could not tell if the sound came from a human or an animal. The noise was distorted but there was something disturbing about it, something that screamed danger. 

Hanamaru found herself running before she could realize it. She ran as fast as she could across the forest and seconds later the noise died down. 

“W…What was that?” She muttered in distress. 

Hanamaru stopped running and looked at the area around her. She felt even more lost as she could not recognize the landscape at all. At this point, she had no choice but to proceed. The lingering feeling of unease only got stronger as she moved onward, but that feeling made her want to get out of this forest as soon as possible.

She felt something strange, something she couldn’t describe properly. It was as though oxygen wasn’t reaching her anymore, but the thought of passing out in a place like this made her do her best to endure it. 

She continued walking across the forest, and then saw something in the distance. She proceeded with caution to get a better look at what caught her eye in between the sea of trees. As she moved onward, she was able to find ribbons of different colors attached to the trees. Most of the ribbons were torn off, but there was one in particular that extended further into the forest while tied up across multiple trees.

The brunette took out her book and held it in her hands, preparing herself for anything as she followed the trail of the ribbon. She continued to walk alongside it, seeing many different things lying across the forest as she proceeded. More torn up umbrellas, old backpacks and even shoes all lied around. Most of these looked extremely damaged and completely unusable. 

Hanamaru didn’t want to give it much thought but at least all of these also meant that there were people around this place. If people had managed to make it all the way here, maybe the exit wasn’t so far off. That was a big possibility, but given the nature of this forest, it could be backwards, and this was the worst possible place to be. 

As she continued along the path of the ribbon she felt shivers fall down her spine as she noticed a big change in the forest. Most of the trees along the path had changed color, this was because most of them were covered with large bloodstains that spread all across the roots in the floor as well. 

And then, she reached the end of the path that the ribbon showed her. This was because the ribbon was suddenly torn off before reaching the next tree. Hanamaru carefully stepped forward, but then noticed something behind those trees. They were old tents that were placed in the middle of the forest. Most of them were already deflated but there was one still up. 

“Hello?” 

She spoke out with caution wondering if there was anyone else there, but there clearly wasn’t. 

The brunette stepped closer to the tents. There was a strange and foul smell coming from them. She didn’t even bother to check the tents that were already deflated but made her way towards a white tent that was still up. 

Hanamaru could feel her legs trembling as she made her way towards the entrance of the tent, but once she stared inside, she saw nothing except for an old archery bow that lied inside. 

“Zura?”

She slowly moved inside the tent, as if drawn by the item that stood in the middle. Hanamaru held the bow with her hands. It was rusty even though it seemed to be made of a strange material. She picked it up without thinking, staring intently at the weapon she had found. But once she picked it up, she was able to see something that was lying just under the bow: a tarot card. 

After picking up the card, she was able to see that it was the card that symbolized “The Tower.”

Taking a closer look inside the tent, there were more cards scattered around on the floor, but most of them were torn to pieces. The only card that remained intact was “The Moon.”

Hanamaru wasn’t an expert when it came to this subject, but she had read a lot of books that brought up different tarot meanings before. She wasn’t able to piece together what the meaning of these cards was, yet she couldn’t help but feel like finding these meant something. 

The brunette wasn’t too keen about taking items just like that, especially at a place like this, but there was something curious about these items. Something that drew her towards them. Something that told her she couldn’t leave them there. 

And so, she put the cards away in her pocket and took the bow with her. She couldn’t tell why she was doing this, she tried to give herself excuses like thinking a weapon might come in handy, but she knew that wasn’t the real reason at all. 

As she stepped away from the tents and stepped forward, she found herself stepping over some feathers lying on the ground. The feathers looked as if someone else had already stepped on them before, and most of them were in a very bad state. Even if the feathers looked dirty and tore apart thanks to this, Hanamaru could tell that their original color might have been a bright and pure white. 

Holding the bow tightly in her hand, Hanamaru continued onward. She still had lost most of her sense of direction, but the ribbon had led to her to this area. If she was able to find these tents, maybe she should just continue moving on this direction. 

It didn’t take long for the night to fall down and for rain to start falling. Being surrounded by darkness, Hanamaru used her book to light up the area around her. Her book floated next to her, completely unaffected by the rain that fell, as it glowed with a yellow light. 

The brunette carefully made her way across the forest, but this time something else made her heart stop for a few seconds. It was a very very faint sound in the distance: the sound of a piano playing a cheerful melody. Despite how happy the song should have been, it gave Hanamaru a horribly disturbing vibe. And then, she could hear the voice of a girl screaming in the distance.

“Dia?!”

Hanamaru rapidly reacted. She knew that voice. But most of all, she knew that Dia of all people wouldn’t have a reaction like this, not even under the worst circumstances. So then, what happened?

_“Where are you going?”_

A voice faintly whispered into Hanamaru’s ear. A sweet voice that she couldn’t recognize. 

Hanamaru jumped up startled while running at full speed, but that was a mistake. Even with the light of her book, it was still hard to look at the environment around her, and the floor had become a lot more slippery thanks to the rain. 

In an instant Hanamaru tripped down, but instead of falling to the floor, her body slipped down into one of the openings under the roots leading to an underground tunnel. 

The brunette rapidly grasped into the edge of the ground before her body fully fell down. She put all of her strength into stopping herself in midair and trying to make it back up. But then she could feel something enveloping her leg, and with great force, she was forced down. 

Hanamaru’s book flew after her. She didn’t have much time to react and her fingertips barely managed to reach the edge of the book. In that moment, the book rapidly grew in size and functioned as a large cushion to stop the impact of her fall. 

The brunette didn’t even take a moment to relax. Whatever pulled her down had already let go of her leg, but she couldn’t let her guard down. She jumped off the large book, which returned to its original size and casted a spell to illuminate the area once more. This time she wasn’t surrounded by trees anymore, but she was inside what looked like an underground passage. 

This passage looked different to the area where the root of power had been. It didn’t even feel like the forest anymore. As the temperature lowered, Hanamaru was able to notice how there were chunks of ice attached to the walls and part of the floor. The area was a lot more open, and at first glance, a lot easier to navigate, so Hanamaru walked forward across the path after picking up the bow that had fallen just next to her. 

It didn’t take her long to find something out of the ordinary. It was a giant magic circle carved into the floor. Or so it had been. The circle seemed to be broken down, as if someone had tried to destroy it by damaging the floor. Hanamaru was well versed in magic, but thanks to the damage, she couldn’t tell what the purpose of this circle had been at all. 

But there was something else that caught her attention there. There was something on the center of the circle. There were many small gems lying at the center, at least nine of them. Hanamaru could tell what they were right away: Love Gems. However, not only were these Love Gems blackened out but they were also shattered in half. 

Hanamaru tried to pick up one of the gems but it shattered into dust in her hands. 

“Zura… this is…” 

She wasn’t sure of what this meant, or why this happened, but she became reluctant of touching the other gems. 

To her surprise, another light illuminated the place, but this time it wasn’t coming out of her book. It was a blue light coming out of the bow in her hand, and a purple light coming out of her pocket. Hanamaru took out the cards and started at both objects in her hands as they glowed brightly. For just an instant, she felt as though two of the gems had started to glow as well, but then all light dissipated. Both the bow and the cards became shrouded by a black color, like the ones in the gems, and then both items fell to the floor with a heavy noise.

Hanamaru stepped back startled, but then tried picking up the bow again with caution. It was no use.

“Why is this… so heavy now?!”

No matter how much she tried to pull it up, it wouldn’t budge. It was the same with the cards, even if they were simple cards made of paper, they had become incredibly heavy as though some strange force was pulling them into the floor. 

She stared at the items frustrated while pondering to herself for a moment. Everything about this was confusing, but more importantly, even when the root of power was still active, she had not sensed a place like this inside the forest at all. It was completely out of her radar. Was this still the forest? 

It wouldn’t have been strange to come to the conclusion that she had been warped to an entirely different place, but there was something this place shared with the forest: a heavy and disturbing pressure in the environment. Not only that but looking at these gems, at this place, the atmosphere felt heavier. It felt a thousand times heavier than the forest itself. Hanamaru couldn’t tell why, but she felt a really strong pain in her heart, she felt like she could start crying at any moment. 

_"What have you done?"_

A voice whispered into Hanamaru’s ear. 

She rapidly stepped back, and ran away, back into the area where she first arrived. But the voices didn’t stop. More and more voices continued to speak, all asking the same thing, all of them sounding full of sorrow. 

“I…I didn’t do anything…” Hanamaru tried to speak but her voice was drowned by the voices that continued all talking to her at the same time. “I didn’t do anything!!!”

Hanamaru tried running as fast as she could. That’s what she wanted to do, but her body wouldn’t move. No matter how much she wanted to get away from there, her body wouldn’t respond to her, it was completely frozen over with fear as a figure appeared before her. No matter how much she tried to scream or force her voice out, she couldn't even do that. A shadowy figure with humanoid form stood right in front of her. It stared into her eyes with its eyes devoid of all life, and it continued approaching her, moving in closer and closer. 

And then, it spoke with a deep and distorted voice.

“I found you.”

 

Going back to the black haired girl. Dia could feel something reaching for her shoulder. 

She didn’t know what was happening, but she knew she would follow that warning and not look behind her. 

“Dia, wait!” 

The voice behind her spoke, and before she realized it, Dia stopped running and turned around. 

She flashed light in the direction of the voice and saw a short girl with long brown hair. 

“H-Hanamaru?”

“I finally caught up, zura!”

“Don’t scare me like that!!” Dia sighed. “Follow me closely and make sure you don’t get lost again, understood?”

The short girl nodded, and Dia turned her back on her as she continued moving onward. 

“Don’t worry. I won’t get lost.” 

The brunette smiled, and even though Dia could not see, her smile turned into an unnatural and malicious smirk. 

Dia felt relieved to have found Hanamaru. This simplified things. All the ribbons told her that they were close to the exit. Everything was going well and according to plan, at this rate they would be able to make it out. Everything should be fine now but…

(Why do I feel so uneasy?)

Dia felt even more nervous. She had a feeling in her gut that told her nothing was going well, but she didn’t like the idea of giving that much thought. She was a very logical person after all. Letting herself get swayed by thoughts like this wasn’t a good idea. After all, being nervous or thinking of bad scenarios in a situation like this was just normal. 

The brunette girl simply followed behind. Looking at Dia’s every move. Smiling to herself by seeing Dia’s growing distress. 

Dia quickly turned around to check and make sure she wouldn’t lose her subordinate again, but something made her feel even worse. 

“Hanamaru! W-Why did you pick up that ugly doll?!”

The head of the doll she had seen before rested in Hanamaru’s hands, its eyes staring intently at her. 

“What do you mean?” Hanamaru tilted her head confused. 

In that instant, she was not holding the doll anymore. In fact, there was nothing in her hands at all.

“I didn’t pick up anything.”

“Huh?” Dia stared at her in disbelief. The doll had disappeared before her very eyes in an instant. Was she just seeing things? “N-Nevermind.”

“Are you okay, zura?”

“I-I’m doing just fine, don’t worry about me.”

“Don’t worry.” Hanamaru smirked to herself, and finished her sentence with a sweet and happy tone. “I won’t.” 

Seconds after Dia turned her back on her again, something stabbed into Dia’s back. Blood fell to the floor across the roots of the forest as the black haired girl let out a scream. 

“You are doing just fine after all!”


	13. Oblivion Forest - Part 3

Two sisters held hands as they walked through the lonely streets of a large city. Even if the world was devoid of color, the two young girls shined brightly. The small girl with black hair smiled as her sister tied up a light blue ribbon to her hair.

“This is a charm that connects us. As long as you have this, we’ll always be together.” The younger sister spoke with an innocent and small voice. 

The elder sister smiles and gave the younger girl with red hair a pat on her head. The younger girl was overjoyed by getting to spend time together with her sister. That was all she wanted, and that was all she needed. Hugging the doll in her arms, she walked forward into the distance. 

 

Dia’s eyes opened wide. What was that image that she saw just now? The girls in that scene had looked too similar and familiar to her, but she could also tell that this wasn’t about her at all. As her thoughts were trying to catch up, she was able to hear her own voice letting out a loud scream followed by a piercing pain on her back. 

The black haired girl kneeled down into the floor. She could feel her own cold blood flowing down her back and into the floor. Immediately, her hand reached for her pocket and she pulled out a small diamond. She pressed the precious stone against her chest, and with a golden spark, her body absorbed the stone and her wound was sealed off. 

“Tch. I didn’t want to use so much alchemy at a time like this.” She was breathing heavily and cold sweat was rolling down her skin. 

“You…” The girl with long black hair then turned around, her hand pulled out her sword out of her sheathe. Using her other hand, she pointed her flashlight towards the girl who stood behind her with an innocent smile. “You are not Hanamaru, are you?”

“Zura? What’s wrong Dia?” The short girl tilted her head. 

At first glance she looked completely innocent, but as Dia’s flashlight traced the figure in front of her, she could see the items in Hanamaru’s hands didn’t match her expression. In one hand, she held the body of a doll missing its head, and on the other hand, she held a long kitchen knife covered with Dia’s blood. 

“Weren’t you doing just fine?” The brunette stepped closer. “Aren’t you feeling great?” She stepped closer, and closer as her voice gradually became more distorted with each sentence. “Aren’t you happy?” 

Dia held the hilt of her blade tightly. She was unable to react right away as the girl approached her, but then, she was nowhere to be seen. In an instant the girl had disappeared before Dia’s very eyes. 

The black haired girl turned around to look behind her. She frantically scanned all of the area but she was not able to see anything or anyone. The only change she was able to perceive was below her. The floor of the forest which was covered by the roots of the main trees had started to become covered by a faint red color. With the color of the dying trees already reaching the roots, it meant that the forest was reaching its limit. 

She started to run forward while trying to find an exit. Even if the other girl had disappeared from her field of vision, and even if she didn’t know where Hanamaru really was, it wasn’t the time to stand around. If she didn’t make it to the exit of the forest soon, then everyone will die.

She didn’t have the time to deal with something like this, that’s what she thought, but it wouldn’t be so simple. As she ran forward, the ground at her feet let out a powerful glow with yellow light. Dia recognized what this was and jumped to the side, barely avoiding a powerful blast of energy that turned the tree roots under feet into dust. 

“Hanamaru’s magic?!”

But she wouldn’t have the time to contemplate what just happened. Immediately after, light illuminated the area under her feet again, this time on a much wider range. Dia started running away, but she could feel her foot slipping into the humid tree roots below her. She rolled across the floor as she fell, but she was able to dodge the attack by mere millimeters. 

Picking up her sword and the flashlight which fell to her sides, Dia stood up and dashed across the forest as fast as she could. Not only was her sense of direction broken apart as she ran, but a wave of incoming attacks with blasts of earth magic followed her relentlessly. 

While escaping from such a wave of familiar attacks, Dia wondered about something. _What if this is really Hanamaru?_ Even if Dia was skeptic about these kind of things, after what she had experienced in this forest, possession wasn’t something that far off. If that was the case, this situation couldn’t be worse. But on the other hand, Dia tried to consider all of the possibilities. This was a forest that had a concentrated root of earth power. Even while dying down, if this was an apparition from the forest, it wasn’t uncommon if their powers were all based on earth magic either. 

The attacks coming after Dia suddenly stopped, but she knew she couldn’t relax just yet. As she expected, the pattern of the attacks coming from her simply changed. Instead of blasts of energy trying to shoot from below her feet, this time she heard the noise of something approaching. It was a powerful projectile beam that shot at full speed in her direction. 

The black haired girl turned around and waved her blade across the air. The magical beam was deflected and pierced a wide hole across four trees to her side. Dia tried to flash light in the direction where the beam came from, but then something took hold of her. The roots of the trees under her feet had started to move, tangling up around her leg and stopping her from moving. Dia struggled and quickly swung her blade to break herself free, but a yellow light illuminated her feet, blasting Dia directly with a powerful surge of earth magic. 

 

What were these images? Dia’s thoughts lingered away. She found herself standing in the middle of an old house. She looked around only to see a small and cramped room with wooden walls. It was as if her thoughts and memories of what happened in the forest were missing. For a second, Dia did not acknowledge suddenly being transported here. She simply looked around confused. Looking out the window, she could tell that it was night time outside. 

The black haired girl was suddenly startled by a crying voice. When she turned around she saw a young girl with red hair crying. For a second this looked like a very familiar scene to her. 

“Ruby?” She wondered out loud but then shook her head. While it was true that the girl in this room looked incredibly similar, her facial features were different along with her eye color being a bright yellow instead. 

Next to the crying girl, there was another young girl who looked to be at least a year older. The young black haired girl had yellow eyes as well and wore the blue ribbon that made Dia remember the previous images which she had seen. The blue ribbon girl was desperately trying to comfort the younger sister. 

“Are you okay?” Dia instinctively walked towards the two girls. 

She kneeled down trying to help the crying girl calm down, but her hand went right through her body, as if Dia was completely transparent. She stared at her own hand in confusion for a few seconds, but something else would take her attention. It was the loud noise of a door being slammed outside the room. 

Dia’s body jumped up startled the moment she heard this noise, and she could see the girls closing their eyes tightly as if waiting for something to happen. Dia didn’t expect it at all, but following the noise of the door, she could hear the voices of adults screaming outside. The screams were loud and excessive, making it difficult for Dia to be able to tell what they said. 

However, in the midst of the loud yells there was a phrase yelled by a woman which she was able to make out clearly. 

_“If only they weren’t born. If only those girls hadn’t been born.”_

_“But they are your daughters!!”_

_“They are nothing but a curse!”_

And clearly, Dia wasn’t the only one who was able to make out these words. Once she looked at the girls, she could see a somber expression on the face of the elder one. She could see a pained expression mixed with hatred pouring out of her eyes. This made Dia notice even more things she hadn’t realized yet.

Taking a proper look at the younger girl who continued to cry, she could see a large red mark with the shape of the palm of a hand on her face. Looking at the elder sister, she could see wounds on her arms peeking from below her sleeve. 

Dia did not even want to imagine what had led up to this. She did not want to imagine what these girls’ lifestyle was like. Experiencing this kind of scene pained her heart greatly. Listening to the adults screaming mixed with noises of glass breaking was enough to stress her out in seconds. 

Now filled with anger, Dia stepped forward towards the exit of the room, she opened the door to go and confront the people that were creating this environment but, the moment she crossed the door, Dia’s consciousness returned to her. 

Everything was pitch black for a moment, but she could feel the texture of wood in the palm of her hands. It was the roots of the trees in the forest. She had been freed from the roots that had trapped her, but her body was now aching with tremendous pain. She felt a burning sensation on her skin as smoke poured out of her body after being hit by that magical attack. 

“Are you okay?” She could hear a cold and distorted voice speaking. 

Dia reached for the flashlight while still crouching down on the ground. She illuminated the figure that stood before her and was able to see Hanamaru looking down at her with a blank expression. No, that wasn’t Hanamaru anymore. As she looked right into her, she could see her lips moving into an unnatural and humanly impossibly grin that spread across her face. Her eyes had become completely pitch black, and her voice grew increasingly more distorted with every word.

“Are you happy now?”

Hearing this voice made Dia feel like she would stop breathing at any moment, her heart was beating incredibly fast, and the atmosphere around her became increasingly heavier. 

“I want you to be happy.”

Followed by this, the ground became illuminated by a yellow light on a giant radius all around Dia. 

 

While this happened, Hanamaru stood frozen in fear as a shadowy figure with humanoid form approached her. No matter how much she tried to scream or how much she wanted to run away, her body wouldn’t react. All she could do was stand there and stare in terror as the shadow glared at her with hollow eyes. She could do nothing as the figure moved in closer and closer to her. 

But then, she felt something touching her shoulder. It was a very warm touch that unlike everything else didn’t make her feel any fear. In fact, for just a second, she felt as though there was someone there supporting her. 

Even if she could not see anyone, she couldn’t help but feel the faint presence of someone standing next to her. It was a powerful presence that radiated with energy.

And even if she could not hear anything, she felt as if an energetic and cheerful voice spoke into her head. 

_“You can do more than this! When faced against an adversity there’s no choice but to break through, nya!!”_

And as if the figure had thrown a powerful punch forward, an immense amount of wind pressure blasted apart the shadowy figure against the wall, which broke apart. In fact, the impact was so grand it even ended up making the tunnel wider as it opened a new path forward. It was a blow powerful enough to change the entire landscape with a single move. 

_“This is as far as I can go, so the rest is up to you!”_

Hanamaru kneeled down into the ground as her body suddenly started to react again. She started coughing as she felt her voice coming back. She had no idea what that was, she had no idea _who_ that was. But a warm feeling enveloped her body as she felt her confidence slowly rising up. 

She took a deep breath, trying to pull herself together, but then she noticed something. Even if Hanamaru was inside an underground passage covered with ice and rock solid stones, there was something different here as well. There was a small flower sitting just next to her. Even if the forest was dying, this flower was still alive and well. It was a white lily flower with its bud closed up, yet to fully bloom.

The brunette couldn’t tell if this flower had been here the whole time, or if it had appeared thanks to the impact. After looking around, she was able to see that most of the ice had shattered apart. Thanks to the impact it looked as if the entire underground area had become much bigger and wider. Hanamaru could see that the ceiling had opened up as tree roots started to fall down, confirming her that this was indeed still the forest. 

But it didn’t change the fact that the forest was dying, so even if this flower was still okay, it wouldn’t be for long. However, having found a flower in a good state meant a lot for Hanamaru. As long as there was life with earth energy flowing across it, Hanamaru could use her magic to share information with it. 

The brunette gently plucked the flower out of the ground by its roots and held it in her hands. She placed it on top of the book, and the flower became shrouded by the light of her magic, with this, it wouldn’t die even if it was separated from the forest. And with this, Hanamaru gained access to the layout of the forest once again. She was able to tell exactly where she was, were the exit was, and where Dia was. 

Now it was just time to regroup and move forward. It was time to bring this to an end, but, it wouldn’t be so easy. Even after that powerful impact, Hanamaru rapidly felt the disturbing presence drawing near. She didn’t want to believe it, she didn’t want to think about it, but she could already hear the deep and distorted voice speaking to her as it approached her.

“Why? Why did you hurt me? Why did you leave me?”

Hanamaru felt her hands growing cold and her face going pale. Was it all for nothing after all? Was this how she would meet her end?

“No.” She took a deep breath.

She was scared, she was scared to death, she was so scared she could cry. But even then, she slowly stepped forward as she clenched her fists. 

“There’s no choice but to break through, zura!” 

 

While Hanamaru and Dia faced their own challenges, the remaining girls stood on the deck of the ship. Night had fallen already and they were illuminating the area with a large round lamp which they were able to find inside the ship. This being one of the main ships of the legendary captain, it was thankfully full of supplies for times like these. 

“What is taking them so long?! We are all going to get eaten by the forest at this rate!!” Yohane complained. She had a bored expression on her face as she rested her arms on the border of the ship. 

“Calm down, they did go into this forest on their own, I imagine the exit is pretty far and not easy to reach.” You answered. 

Even if she was nervous, she was trying to keep calm and take it easy. There really wasn’t much they could do but wait. 

“That being said, I wouldn’t have expected Kanan to be friends with a person like that. Have you known each other for a long time?” The gray haired girl tried to change the track of the conversation before Yohane started complaining again. 

“Huh, Dia? Ah, that’s right. I guess you and Chika don’t really remember her.” Kanan answered You with a calm tone. In contrast, there was a big expression of worry in her face, and all this time she had been tapping her foot against the floor relentlessly. 

Riko then walked into the deck of the ship from inside the cabin. Kanan rapidly turned around startled, but then calmed down once she noticed it was her. It was as if Kanan was the one the most nervous from them all.

“How are they doing?” Kanan questioned her.

“It seems like Hanamaru did a good job taking care of their wounds, for now they are both still sleeping.” 

“That’s a relief.” Kanan let out a sigh before plopping into the floor.

“It is.” Riko walked towards the edge of the deck and stared at the decaying trees around them. “Still this place is falling apart fast, I hope we hear from them soon.”

Looking at the forest and being there while surrounded by the darkness of the night made Riko extremely uneasy. She had a bad feeling about letting Dia and Hanamaru go on their own from the very beginning, and going for so long without any kind of response just made her feel worse about it. She couldn’t help but feel like she should have taken responsibility and accompanied them, or maybe helped them think of a better plan, but then again their options were still very limited. 

“Hmph.” Yohane crossed her arms. “This wouldn’t be happening if we got the help from my little demon, it would be but a very simple tas…w-w-w-what is that?!”

Yohane’s voice rapidly became shaky as she stepped back, pointing in the direction behind Riko. 

“Huh?”

Everyone stared at the Yohane confused. The fallen angel found her body shaking as she fell to the floor while still pointing forward. “T-T-T-Those things!!”

Riko, You and Kanan then slowly turned around, only to see three shadowy figures approaching them. They were extremely tall, and moved strangely while rocking back and forth on its two legs. However, aside from the legs they used to move, they had no body, no eyes, head or anything else. They were giant, upside-down, V shaped creatures that were slowly approaching the ship. 

 

Hanamaru stepped forward as the eerie humanoid shadow approached her. She had finally found a way out of this forest, a way to save everyone, but right now a big obstacle appeared before her. 

“It hurts.” The shadow spoke with a distorted voice that sent chills flying towards Hanamaru.

“Who are you?” Hanamaru decided to try and communicate with it. “What do you want?”

“Why did you leave me?” The voice replied, not paying attention to Hanamaru’s words at all. 

If possible, Hanamaru would prefer not to hurt this figure at all. Even if she didn’t know what this was, it wasn’t the same as facing a monster. On top of the eerie feeling enveloping Hanamaru, the more she tried to interact with this figure, the sadder she would feel without an explanation. 

Now that the landscape had changed and roots from above had fallen down, Hanamaru attempted to run for it. She started to run in the direction of one of the roots. They were large enough for her to climb them up like climbing up stairs but the shadow started moving faster. 

Despite having a humanoid form, shadows extended out of its arm and tightly gripped Hanamaru’s wrists. The brunette reacted by letting out a large blast of earth magic where the shadow was standing. This caused the shadows to let go. She could feel a burning sensation in her skin, but she used the chance to try and escape. She rushed across the root making her way to the surface of the forest again, but the moment she stepped up into the forest, the figure stood right in front of her. 

It continued to speak to her, constantly saying the same words all over and over again.

“It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts.”

Hanamaru felt something wrong about having to attack this creature in such a state, but she knew that there was no choice. Hanamaru’s book was hovering just next to her with her flower on top as it illuminated the place around her. Hanamaru’s fingers reached for a page of the book and a glowing yellow arrow made of concentrated earth magic shot towards the figure, dragging it across the air and stabbing it against a tree. 

The brunette thought this was her chance to escape, but the figure’s voice only became louder and more distorted. It was almost as if it was now screaming. 

“Don’t leave me. Don’t leave me. Don’t leave me. DON’T LEAVE ME.”

Immediately, the figure spread its shadows across the roots covering the floor. Even while Hanamaru tried to escape, the roots rapidly tangled around her legs, dragging her down and towards the place where the figure was. 

Hanamaru screamed and tried to stop herself from breathing heavily as her body continued to be dragged towards the shadow which stared into her soul with hollow eyes. She could feel her body hardening again, at this rate she would be immobilized by fear and she wouldn’t be able to do anything. 

Taking one last deep breath, the brunette sank her teeth into her own lips with force. Her body was snapped awake by the pain, and gave her enough time to reach out for the pages of her book. She let out a massive blast of earth magic not caring if she was caught up in the attack as well. Dust rose up into the air thanks to the impact. And behind that cloud of dust, Hanamaru stood up as the falling leaves danced all around her. 

“I don’t want to hurt you, zura.” She spoke as she tried to catch her breath. 

She had been in the center of the impact of her own magic, and as such, her body was in incredible pain. Her clothes had been damaged and tore apart by the sleeves along with her ribbon. Her skin felt as if it was burning, but this wasn’t the time to back down at all. 

Hanamaru saw as a red color had started to spread across the floor, and now that she had better understanding about the overall state of the forest, she knew very well what this meant. 

“Please-” The shadowy figure spoke once again, but its loud distorted voice was interrupted by Hanamaru.

“I’m sorry, zura!” As she spoke, a large magic circle appeared at her feet. 

The entire area became shrouded by a powerful yellow light as Hanamaru started concentrating her magic. However, the circle became smaller, and smaller. The magic circle then rose up from the ground and rested at the brunette’s fingertips as she extended out her arm and pointed at the figure that approached her every time faster. 

“Please, rest in peace.” She muttered under her own breath. 

In that moment, a large and powerful massive blast of earth magic shot from Hanamaru’s fingertips. The beam spread out far and wide, tearing apart the shadow into nothingness along with all of the trees on its path. 

As the beam dissipated, the shadow remained nowhere to be seen. Instead, an old and damaged light blue ribbon danced with the wind until it fell into the ground. 

Hanamaru turned around to check on her book. It still floated just next to her with the white lily flower floating on top of it. She confirmed she still had a clear understanding of the layout of the forest, so her next course of action was clear: she had to go where Dia was.

 

Dia found herself surrounded by a massive yellow light that prepared to let out another burst of energy. Knowing that she couldn’t escape the attack this time, she didn’t try to dodge it. Instead, she charged towards the girl who stood in front of her. That girl didn’t look like Hanamaru anymore. Her eyes were hollow, and her hair had turned into a blood red color. An unnatural smile spread across her lips and she simply stood there while holding a headless doll on her arms. 

The black haired girl swung her blade towards the girl with all her force, but the attack missed completely. Dia could feel how she ended up hitting the solid ground instead. She barely had time to notice the girl was now standing behind her, and without having been able to escape, Dia was blasted by a powerful surge of magic once again.

This time Dia did not see any images but was assaulted by a lot of voices screaming into her head at the same time. It was the same voices as the adults from before, and even though it just lasted for a few seconds it was enough to make Dia’s head hurt a lot. 

The black haired girl found herself on the floor while incredibly damaged. She knew that even when facing someone with similar magic as Hanamaru’s it would be a lot easier if she could use her alchemy. But if she used her alchemy then she wouldn’t be able to pull out the other girls towards the exit of the forest. She had already used a high amount to heal her fatal wound, so she had no choice but to fight back like this. 

Dia poured all her strength into her body and stood up again while holding her sword. She was not holding the flashlight anymore, but it didn’t matter. She could clearly feel the presence of the girl moving in closer. Even in the middle of the darkness, she could faintly see the figure standing just steps away from her. 

The black haired girl swung her blade towards the girl with a lot of force. Dia’s blade danced across the air with very precise and fast movements, but every time she tried to land a hit, it would end up slashing the ground instead. 

As she charged forward, Dia felt her body being pulled down with a lot of force. Just like before, the roots of the trees around her feet started to tangle up across her legs, bringing her down. Because of this, she let go of her weapon for just a second, but that second was all the girl needed to be able to take it. 

On top of that, the red color spreading across the floor changed into a glowing red light that emanated from beneath and spread all across the forest. The moment this light touched Dia’s body, she could feel her energy rapidly leaving her body.

 

“I-It’s already happening, zura…” Hanamaru groaned as she forced her body to move forward. She felt all her energy rapidly being drained as the light covered her body, and simply moving a step forward felt heavier.

 

By the place where the ship was, Riko, You, Yohane and Kanan continued to fight the strange creatures that had appeared. They released consecutive blasts of attacks with different kinds of magic, but the sturdy creatures were barely being pushed back.

“These monsters are a lot tougher than I expected, to think they would be giving a fallen angel like me so much trouble.” Yohane stepped back before releasing another blast of fire towards one of them.

“What are these things?!” Kanan clenched her first. “We need to hurry and get back on the ship!”

She jumped and punched away one of the creatures with great force. The creature was sent flying away across the air and crashed into the ground with a great impact, but didn’t take long before getting back up.

“I know but they are too strong!” 

No matter how much force Riko tried to put behind her wind magic, the creatures easily resisted it and forced their way forward.

And then, the floor became covered with a glowing red light. The moment this happened, everyone felt as if their bodies were being forced down by gravity and their energies were being taken away.

“N-No way! This is?!” You screamed, forcing herself to keep fighting as much as she could.

“We have to… hurry back to the ship.” Kanan had difficulty speaking. She knew this was the worst possible situation. 

 

“Are you happy now?” The voice of the girl spoke. Even amidst its distortion, Dia felt like it was a voice she had heard at least once before. 

Dia felt something heavy sitting on top of her, making breathing a lot harder than it already was. There she saw the girl with hollow eyes staring at her. Dia’s body was assaulted by a disturbing feeling of panic the moment her eyes met with the girl, but she was also assaulted by a powerful feeling of sorrow. 

This is when Dia was able to notice something; the girl was holding her sword in her hands. The tip of the blade was pointing right towards Dia’s chest. 

“Please be happy. Please. Please. Please. Please. Please. Please. Please.” The girl spoke before swinging the blade downwards. 

Hanamaru let out a scream as she was able to see the scene from not too far away. And at that very moment, a loud piercing noise resounded across the forest.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

The area around Dia was shrouded by a large and powerful golden light. This happened the moment she placed the palm of her hand against the floor. 

“Good thing… I made it.” Dia whispered under her breath. 

She didn’t want to have to use her alchemy, and this is why she had devised a plan. Every time her sword stabbed into the ground, she had not been swinging at the girl aimlessly. If one were to take a look from above, the floor below her was carved with a strange symbol. It looked like a star with a crossed out circle to one of its sides. It was a symbol for alchemy activation. With this, instead of using her own power as fuel, she was going to use the remaining power in the forest to attack. 

The symbol below them let out a powerful golden glow. This time, Dia’s objective wasn’t to create or reconstruct anything with alchemy. Instead, it exploded into a great golden fountain of light that released a great burst of concentrated alchemy. 

The powerful attack however did not hurt Dia or anything else in the center. It was a dangerous bet but she had set the attack so it’d only destroy one thing present there: the doll. 

And while shrouded in golden light, one final scene clouded Dia’s consciousness. 

 

Dia found herself somewhere in the forest, but it was now daytime. The image of two sisters walking across the forest quickly caught her eye. They were following an adult who continued walking forward with soulless eyes. 

The younger girl was clinging tightly unto the blue ribbon girl’s arm as they followed the man deeper into the forest. Once it started raining, the elder girl opened the umbrella in her hands to cover her younger sibling from the rain. However, the moment she did, the man looked displeased. He turned around, and forcefully took away the umbrella before hurling it atop one of the tree branches. 

“You won’t need this.” He spoke in a cold voice, full of hatred and resentment. 

This time Dia did not even have a way to intervene. It was not like she was standing there, she was merely looking at the images pass before her.

“S…Sis.” The younger girl spoke with a shaky voice. “Where are we going?”

“It’s okay.” The blue ribbon girl tried to reassure her. “Father just wanted to take us on a small trip, is all!”

“No.” The old man turned around once more. He slapped the black haired sister across the face and pushed her down into the ground. “This isn’t a trip to have fun!!”

“F-F-Father?” The younger sister felt her body shaking in panic, but the man didn’t care.

“Don’t you get it?! Don’t you understand?! This is all because of you! This is all because you exist! Your existence was a mistake! And it’s my fault!! I must correct it!! I must make you disappear!! I brought you here so you could die!!”

The elder sister did not even bother to respond. She clicked her tongue, stood up and held the younger one by her wrist while running away.

“W-W-W-Why?!”

“It’s okay, it’s going to be okay so please don’t worry!”

The older man yelled at them and chased after them, but soon lost sight of them across the forest. In the end, he was never able to leave that place.

No matter how much the elder sister tried to suppress her emotions, tears rolled down her face as she ran way while trying to protect the younger one. She felt like it was her duty to protect her no matter what, even against their own father. 

But then the imagine which Dia saw changed drastically. She was able to see the black haired girl with the blue ribbon crying in a corner of the forest under one of the trees. Her clothes were torn off and dirty, as though she had been here for a very long time. But Dia then realized something horrible. In this scene, the younger sister was nowhere to be found anymore. 

Dia was able to see the black haired girl desperately cry out and yell across the forest looking for the other girl, but no matter how much she tried, no matter how many days passed, she was never able to. 

The images before Dia rapidly got distorted and many different memories flashed before her eyes at a high speed. It was the images of the times the sisters had found at least a bit of happiness. The times they laughed together. The times the elder sister would help her sleep by reading her stories. The time the younger one had given her a ribbon for her birthday. The times they had found joy simply by being together. 

And in the end, she was able to hear the last words the elder sister ever heard from her beloved younger sister.

“I want you to be happy, so you don’t have to worry.”

With this, all the images faded away together with the golden light that enveloped the doll and tore it apart into nothingness. 

Dia’s sword fell to her side, and from the spot where the doll had been, a Love Gem fell next to Dia. 

However, the black haired girl could not even get excited about it. Tears streamed down her face as rain fell on her from above the skies. Even if the forest had continued to suck up her energy, Dia could not stop herself from crying.

Hanamaru who was staring at the scene carefully approached her and helped her get up. 

“This time, it’s you for real right..?” Dia asked while still being cautious. Her body felt heavier as her energy started to leave her, but she picked up the Love Gem while putting the sword back on its sheathe. 

“I’m sorry, zura!!” Hanamaru quickly apologized. “We got separated because I wasn’t careful enough, it was all my fault, zura!!”

“It’s alright.” Dia tried to smile while wiping away the tears from her eyes, and then tried to return to her initial task. “Do you think we can make it?”

After all her experiences, and seeing Dia like this, Hanamaru knew that she couldn’t let her down and answered: “Of course, zura!”

Hanamaru started to guide Dia to the exit of the forest which wasn’t too far away. It didn’t take long for them to be able to see a clear path before them where there weren’t trees anymore. On top of that, the red light did not shine on that path either, without a doubt they had made it to the exit.

The two girls started moving towards the path, but their energy was being drained even faster.

“Sorry, zura.” 

Hanamaru was the first one to collapse into the ground just a few steps away. 

“What are you… talking about…?” 

Dia held Hanamaru by her waist and tried carrying her. The exit was right there just a few steps away, it was right there but… Dia’s body couldn’t move anymore either. Using the last of her strength, Dia pulled out the gems that were supposed to function like magnets with the ship, and hurled them towards the path that led to the exit. 

“Kanan…” Dia could barely make out words anymore. Her body fell heavily into the ground as she released one final golden spark of alchemy. “It’s up to you now.”

 

But Kanan wasn’t in the best state to carry out their plan. They had barely made it back to the ship, but one of the girls still remained down while trying to keep away the strange creatures. 

“You!” Kanan yelled at the girl. “You have to come back right now, it’s an order!!”

“I know!” You yelled back desperately. 

She had managed to keep the creatures away by releasing a barrage of bubbles and freezing them in midair, but her energy being constantly drained was taking a big toll on her, making her unable to move back fast enough.

This is when the ship slowly started to move. It became engulfed by a golden light in response to Dia’s alchemy.

“You!!” Kanan yelled, jumping from the deck of the ship and extending out her arm at the young captain.

The grey haired girl reacted and tried to jump up to reach for Kanan’s hand, but she felt her body being pulled down by an incredible pressure. She could feel her fingertip barely touching Kanan’s but she wasn’t going to make it at this rate. In a second, the ship started to move forward.

“What are you doing?”

But You wasn’t left behind. She was able to hear Riko’s voice, and then felt something grasping her wrist tightly. Using the last of her strength, Riko lifted up You’s body with a surge of wind and made it so that she and Kanan could reach her. Even if the ship shot forward across the forest at full speed, You managed to make it back into the deck of the ship.

The ship flew across the air, with the drill on the front shoving away the trees on its way, but it came to a stop in seconds. With Dia passing out, the effect of her alchemy stopped before they could make any progress, and the ship was stranded in the middle of the forest.

“Kanan!” Riko looked at the blue haired girl knowing that it was her turn now, but Kanan’s face showed a lot of panic.

“It wasn’t supposed to be like this!” Kanan yelled. “We’ve barely moved! I’m not sure where to go from here and I don’t understand alchemy to know Dia’s intention!!”

“T-Then are you saying that we are trapped here?!” Yohane started to panic. 

Everyone’s energy was being drained fast, at this rate none of them would make it out.

“If you need an alchemist.” But then a voice spoke. It was a small voice full of determination. “Then Ruby is here.”

The one who stepped forward in the middle of the crisis was Ruby. She was able to easily understand her sister’s intent, and poured alchemy on the ship so that it’d follow its path towards the other end of the magnet. 

Using Ruby’s alchemy, the ship flew across the air with incredible force and at a much higher speed until landed on the path by the exit of the forest, right where Dia had hurled the other half of the gems.

☆

“Sis?”

Dia was able to hear a familiar voice once she opened her eyes. She found herself lying on top of one of the beds inside the ship. Her body was in pain but she realized: she was still alive. Once her senses returned to her, she was able to see her sister sitting just in front of her.

“Ruby…”

Dia reached out for Ruby and hugged her tightly. Her memory was hazy. She felt confused and lost, but there was one thing she was certain of: she would protect her sister at all costs. 

Hanamaru was lying down on another bed inside the same room. She smiled once she saw the warm scene before her, and in that moment, the flower which she still held in her hands bloomed. As its bud opened, a small and shiny pink gem fell from inside the flower and into Hanamaru’s hands. 

It was the proof that even in this decaying place, there was still precious life worth protecting. It was a small ray of hope that would open their path to move forward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is actually the end of the “Oblivion Forest” arc, so unlike before this was one was just three parts! Since Hanamaru didn’t get to do too much last arc, and Dia just showed up recently, I felt like it was time to give them some spotlight, and this scenario was also really fitting for the two of them. 
> 
> I’m not too experienced writing horror but I was able to see everyone’s reactions, so I’m glad I was able to translate my intent into the story properly in the end. And again, I’m really thankful for everyone’s comments and kudos every week, it makes me want to keep doing my best to bring you updates always in time! 
> 
> By the way, since I also realized we are close to 1k hits. I thought of doing something fun once we get there. I was thinking of doing small one-shot side stories within the universe of this story. (And of course, nothing that would give you spoilers either) So I’ll work on the first one once we reach 1k hits, look forward to it! 
> 
> If there’s anything specific you want to see, or with any specific characters (that already appeared in the story) you can also let me know. I can’t promise anything but I’ll keep it in mind! Again thank you for your support!


	14. Shining Leader

Cold winds had started to run across the land and leaves started to fall. They covered the busy streets of a small city and signaled it was now the first day of autumn. 

It was early in the morning, and despite the place being so big, there were only few people outside. In the midst of those people, a tall girl walked across the streets while holding a handful of paper bags with groceries in them. 

Even in a place like this, she stood out from among everyone else. This was because of her uniform-like clothes. She wore a dark blue jacket with short sleeves and a purple ribbon on the front. The jacket was adorned with golden buttons and stripes along with a small golden star badge hanging from one of her pockets. Her blue skirt matched with the color of her jacket, and her long white gloves matched with the color of the frilly blouse she wore underneath. 

A powerful wind ran by, making the girl hang onto the groceries tightly so that they wouldn’t fly out of her arms. Her blonde hair reached her shoulders, and was tied in the shape of a loop to its side. 

“It sure is getting cold fast, I wanna go back to bed.” She complained after letting out a sneeze. “But it’s the leader’s role to prepare a warm welcome meal for those girls once they are back. Yep! I have to do it!” 

Having said this, she continued walking across the lonely streets of the city, but the peace wouldn’t last for long. The sound of a loud scream echoed across the place. 

“What?” 

The blonde rapidly turned her head around to look at the area behind her. Her bright yellow eyes met with nothing but the empty road that led back to the shopping district. There was nothing but an eerie silence and the sound of the howling wind for a few seconds. A silence that was slowly but surely interrupted by the sound of rapid footsteps. 

The girl curiously started walking forward; not paying much mind to the large amount of people that appeared running in her direction. They were screaming and running away from the shopping district with all their might. 

She slowly moved her hand, stopping one of the running people by tightly grasping their wrist. Tilting her head confused and speaking in a calm tone she simply asked: “What happened?” 

“B-B-Bandits!! They are finally attacking us, it’s all over for us!!”

“Hm.” 

The blonde brought a hand to her chin, letting go of the person who immediately continued running away. She sighed, putting the bags with groceries down into the floor before stretching out and cracking her fists.

“I didn’t want to do morning exercise today, but I guess it can’t be helped huh?” 

As all the merchants fled the scene, the girl walked forward ready to put a stop to this. 

Once she stepped into the shopping district, most of the place had been completely abandoned. All she could see were empty and wrecked food stalls which had been lively and full of products just minutes ago. Despite how desolate the place was now, it didn’t take long for the sound of people laughing to reach her. 

The blonde girl didn’t hesitate to walk in the direction of the voices and she soon met a large group of people dressed with messy clothes. They had dirty shirts with blue and white stripes along with torn up pants. They were all holding large bags on their hands and kept filling them with apples from an empty stand. 

“Whoa!” The blonde exclaimed in a surprised tone. “So these kind of lousy thieves do exist after all!” 

“…”

Everyone went silent. In an instant a lot of menacing glares surrounded the girl from all directions. The ruffians had let go of their bags and formed a circle, trapping the girl inside. They hadn’t hesitated to pull out guns and large knives while they approached her with ill intent.

“Wha' did ye say ye scum?” “Ye must reckon ye be really tough jus' walkin' here, huh?” “Can we jus’ kill her already?”

But the blonde girl simply yawned, completely ignoring anything they had to say.

“Can we get this done and over with already? I’m a very busy girl you know.”

“Haha! What can a single girl like ye do?” One of the bandits laughed and charged at her at full speed. 

“This?” 

With that simple response, the blonde girl opened the palm of her hand, doing a motion as if she was throwing something in the direction of the attacker. Even though she held nothing in her hands, an extremely bright burst of light exploded out of thin air. The range of the attack was so large that it didn’t only blow the attacker away, but everyone else standing around was blown down into the floor with excessive force. 

The people standing behind her who had managed to avoid the attack quickly reacted. Some shot their bullets at her while others hurled their knives in her direction, being careful not to get close. But their attacks, along with their bodies were all blown away with a swift movement of the girl’s hands.

“W-W-Wait!” One of the bandits reacted. “I-Is that?!”

“I’ve heard about her!! T-That’s the leader o’ th’ Liberation, Mari Ohara!!”

“So what?! We’ll take her down right here along wit' that squiffy group!”

“W-Wha' are ye sayin'?! There’s no way we stand a chance again-!”

But the bandits were not able to continue their conversation as they were blasted with force across the air, hitting against the stalls and into the solid wall. 

The girl walked forward while holding some unconscious bandits by the collars of their shirts, pulling them as their bodies slid across the cold ground. 

“Will you surrender now? This city has some nice and cold jail cells waiting for you. They may even give you some free food once in a while! Isn’t that a PERFECT deal?” 

But the bandits did not even bother to give her a response. Instead, the ones that could still move rapidly started running away while screaming.

“Aw, and I was even trying to be nice. Oh well!”

Mari did not run after the criminals who tried to escape. Instead, she reached for her pocket and pulled out a gun. It was a silver gun with shining gold ornaments. After that she hurled two small gems into the air, they were two sapphires and looked exactly like the gems Dia used for her alchemy. The moment the sapphires collided against the gun, it became shrouded with a powerful blue light. 

Mari then aimed at the bandits that ran in the distance. They were quite far away but it wasn’t a problem. With the gun still glowing, Mari smiled and a radiant purple aura enveloped the gun as well. The moment she pulled the trigger, the gun released a massive blast that tore apart the air and slightly pushed her body back thanks to the impact. The blast shot forward at a great speed, completely obliterating everything in its path across a very long distance. Needless to say, all the bandits that tried to escape were nearly burnt into a crisp. 

She shrugged and put her gun away. She looked completely unfazed despite all the destruction in her path until she realized something. 

“Uh-oh. Dia is going to be mad that she has to fix this place again, oops!”

In the midst of the destruction, one of the bandits hid behind a wall, having just barely managed to escape Mari’s attack. 

“I have t’… I have to lure her in.” The bandit whispered to themselves with their breathing growing more and more frantic. “If I do it lady Erena will be pleased!”

“Oh, is that so?” 

A sweet and cheerful voice made the bandit jump up to their feet. They did not realize when did she catch up, but Mari was crouching next to them with a calm expression in her face. 

Without having much of a choice they ran away at full speed towards the port which wasn’t too far away. They ran and ran as fast as they could, fearing that they could be blown away by a powerful attack at any moment but after a while they had lost sight of the blonde girl. 

Letting out a faint sigh of relief, the bandit boarded a ship that was docked at the port. The ship wasn’t too small, but it didn’t stand out from all the other ships stopped there either. They rushed into the ship and were immediately received by a larger group of bandits that came running out of the ship’s cabin. 

“Wha' happened?!” 

The group of bandits made a circle around their comrade to question them. Looking at their blue and white striped shirt and taking a closer look at the flag with a skull on top of the ship, it was now easier to tell that these were in fact pirates. 

“T-T-T-T…”

“Speak out clearly! Stop bein' a coward!”

“T-Th' leader o' th' Liberation wiped out our entire group!! We 'ave t' get out o' here!!”

“Wha’?”

“So th' Birthstone Alchemist be here?”

“N-N-No, it’s th’ leader! Th’ real leader!!”

“Wha' are ye natterin' about? Th' Birthstone Alchemist be th' leader o' that group. Talk o' someone else leadin' them from above be jus' lies 'n rumors!!”

“Even if it’s jus’ th’ Birthstone Alchemist I wouldn’t wan’ to fight her, maybe we should go…”

“O' course nah, 'tis our time t' destroy her 'n that whole group down once 'n fer all!!”

“B-But we don’ stand a chance against th’ alchemist!!”

“Right?” A bright voice made everyone jump up startled. 

Amidst the circle of pirates, a blonde girl stood relaxed while leaning over the shoulder of one of them. She had a happy expression on her face and had blended in without anyone realizing it. 

“This YOUNG kid is RIGHT!” She spoke full of energy while emphasizing some words with a fake English accent. “If you were to take on Dia, winning would be absolutely IMPOSSIBLE!” 

“W-W-W-When did she-?!”

“Calm down.” Mari shrugged. “I’m just here to invite you to a DELICIOUS breakfast at the local jail!” 

“D-Don’t mess wit’ us! Who do ye reckon ye be?!”

“Get her lads!”

“I’m having a hard time understanding you guys. So I guess that’s a no?” Mari slowly moved her hand in the direction of the pirates that charged at her. “Oh well.” 

With a powerful blast, the pirates surrounding her were blown away out of the ship and into the water.

“Hey.” Mari kneeled down. She was talking to one of the pirates who still remained on board. “You guys are pirates right? Do you have any treasure? I bet you do! I’ll do you a favor and take it off yours hands!” 

“I-I-Isn’t that also stealin'?!”

“Is it? Hmm, how did that saying go… was there even one about it? Oh well! Point is you guys are thieves anyway so you can’t complain!!”

Most of the pirates were trembling in fear by seeing some of their comrades beaten up just like that, but they were also boiling in anger. Using a perfect formation to surround Mari they all charged at her at once. This time, instead of just blasting them apart she decided to try and see what the extent of their skill was. Clearly, it was not enough to stand a chance against her. 

The blonde girl moved with elegant and simple movements. All it’d take is for her to press her hand against the pirate’s arms to push their blades away from her, and she knew perfectly where to step and when to dodge the bullets coming at her. Slowly going on the offensive, she used her feet to trip up one of the pirates making their face sink into the fist of another pirate that came at her with a punch. Using her hands, she threw two more pirates off balance making them fall into the floor. And once she had dodged all the attacks coming at her… _boom._

All the pirates were mercilessly blasted away by her radiant light. 

“You. W-What are you-?!” A cold and somber voice reached Mari’s ears. 

She slowly turned around and glanced at a new person who appeared on top of the ship. It was a tall man with long black hair, an eye patch and a long red coat. He stared at Mari with an intimidating glare as he walked towards her. He had a large gun in his hand and a long blade on the other one. 

“Oh! Are you the captain? You actually speak normally I’m surprised.”

“What are you doing to my crew?!”

“Well, if you are the captain then GOOD! Take me to the treasure!”

“The only place where you are going is the grave you scoundrel!” 

The pirate captain rapidly pulled on the trigger of his gun while aiming at the blonde girl. The sound of a powerful gunshot resounded but it didn’t come from the captain. It took Mari less than a second to draw her gun and shoot. A massive wave of purple light shot with great force. It was a strange light enveloped by a radiant color. It spread a large amount of heat across the area and incinerated the bullet coming towards Mari in seconds. Even if the blonde girl wasn’t fully aware of it, the strike of energy that had come out of her gun was a blast of plasma. It was needless to say that the pirate captain was in no estate to fight, or tell her about the treasure anymore. 

“Huh?” Mari stared in disbelief at how easy this fight had ended. “Given how much I’ve heard about pirates, I thought they’d be stronger than this. If these are the enemies Dia usually deals with no wonder she gets so bored.”

Putting her weapon away, Mari walked towards the cabin of the boat to inspect it and see if she could find any treasure. But all she could find were piles of fruit and bread that they probably stolen from somewhere else. It probably reflected how weak these pirates were after all. 

Taking one last look at the steering wheel however, Mari was able to find an old map extended out just next to it. The map had two areas marked with a red X but the blonde didn’t seem too care too much about it. 

She turned around ready to leave the place but something small in the back of her mind made her curious about the spots marked on the map.

“It couldn’t be.” She laughed at herself, but turned around to stare at the map as if it called out to her.

She felt silly for believing something from such weak pirates could be useful, but it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try either. She quickly rolled up the map and placed it inside her pocket.

“Well, I guess that’s that.”

She began to stretch out and relax but there was a sudden strong impact against the boat. Mari rapidly ran out of the cabin as the boat trembled by another powerful impact. Once she stood on the deck of the ship she was able to see another pirate ship close by, shooting large cannon balls in her direction. 

Mari didn’t stop to think of a plan and simply took action. She simply jumped, simply used a cannon ball that flew in midair as a stepping stone, and simply landed inside the other ship. 

All the pirates behind the cannons jumped up in fear completely dumbfounded by what they just saw, but they were soon blasted away into the sea before they could do anything at all. 

“Hmm maybe there’s treasure in this one.” 

Mari spoke to herself as she calmly walked across the ship. She was extremely calm despite the group of pirates running towards her at full speed. 

“I wonder if they have a map too.”

She completely ignored their attacks, dodging the blades coming at her and letting out explosions of light left and right to clear her path. This time there was no ship captain to confront her, or maybe there was, but she likely blasted them away without paying much mind. 

She looked around before checking the cabin on this ship. There was nothing in sight except for the previous ship that had already begun to sink slowly after the canon ball impact. Aside from there was only the clear sea along with some seagulls that flew by. 

Mari walked towards the cabin and opened the doors. She noticed the doors in this ship were a lot bigger and wider but attributed it to a choice in design. However, once she had a look inside, she found something unexpected. 

The room inside did not have a steering wheel or any kind of control cabin. It was just a large and wide hollow room. It was difficult to tell because of the room being so dark but she could hear the sound of chains. And the next thing she noticed was a pair of bright red eyes staring at her from within the darkness. The eyes themselves were of a large size and the sound of a powerful and distorted roar followed. 

Mari quickly stepped away but whatever was inside broke free of its chains. A tall creature walked out of the room while following Mari. It was a humanoid creature, but its skin seemed to be scaly and of an odd silver color. Its large red eyes glowed even when exposed to the sun outside, and large horns decorated its head. 

“I did it…” A pirate smiled to themselves while lying on the ground as they stared at this scene. “I did it… Lady Erena.”

Mari prepared to attack but she realized her hand was slightly shaking thanks to the powerful, intimidating pressure of this creature. The more she looked at it the more she could only come to one conclusion about its true nature. 

“There’s no way… I know it’s just a monster but… it looks like a… DEMON?!”

And true to its nature, the demon showed no mercy. It charged at Mari with tremendous speed. 

The blonde opened the palm of her hand, letting out a powerful burst of light, but the demon did not even move an inch as it continued moving forward. She stared at the scene before her in disbelief as the demon continued to move past her barrage of explosions. Seeing that the enemy was close enough, Mari tried to step back while reaching for her gun and getting ready to shoot, but she wasn’t able to do in time. The demon had finally reached her, extending its cold and dreadful hand to grab her neck tightly. 

Mari’s plasma shot was sent in the wrong direction thanks to this, piercing a large hole across the ship. The blonde did not have a single second to think of a strategy as the demon pushed her down and dragged her across the floor of the ship. She was dragged all the way inside the dark room where she had found the demon and pushed against the wall as its claws began to slowly sink into her neck.

The blonde found herself unable to breathe, no matter how much she kicked and struggled the grasp on her would only become tighter. She used every bit of strength to move her hand while still holding unto her gun and pressed it against the demon’s chest, shooting a massive plasma blast at a close range.

The force of the impact was enough to force the demon away from her. Mari coughed while trying to catch her breath once again, this was her chance to escape, or so she thought. The demon was incredibly fast to recover from the attack. It charged towards her with incredible speed. Without being able to even stand up properly, Mari rolled across the floor, barely dodging the creature that crashed hard against the wall. 

Mari used her gun to blow apart the wall next to her and run for it as fast as she could. She ran into the deck of the ship while trying to open as much distance as possible. She aimed her gun to the spot where the demon was. She could see it staring at her with a disturbing look on its eyes. The humanoid form it had and the strange growling noises that came out of its mouth unsettled her. It felt as though she was fighting a monster, but at the same time a creature as smart as a human. 

The blonde girl was ready to attack without mercy once the demonic beast came charging at her once again, but it didn’t. It changed its strategy and instead sent a massive fireball of very dark colored fire flying into Mari’s direction. The fire itself made a strange distorting noise as it traveled across the air. Mari tried to shoot down the attack but instead the fireball exploded into a rain of fire that spread all across the ship. 

Mari looked at the demon that prepared to release another fire attack and glanced at the almost sinking ship not too far away. If she wanted to try and escape that was her best route but her escape route was sealed in seconds. The fire that had spread earlier had caused the ship to start burning at an incredible speed. She could feel the heat in her skin as massive walls of fire rose up all around her, barely giving her any footing. 

She clicked her tongue, all her options were rapidly running out and she would not be given enough time to react. From behind the wall of fire, a large hand with sharp claws extended into Mari’s direction. She quickly let herself fall into the ground to dodge it and shot directly at the demon that approached her once more. Her plasma shot made direct contact, blasting apart one of the demon’s arms but it did not react at all. It did not seem to feel pain or care about it. It simply stared at Mari with eyes full of malice; it stared at her with a piercing gaze powerful enough to burn up someone’s soul. 

“So this is what you call a real PROBLEM, huh?” 

With her only choices being either to fight the demon head on or facing the burning walls of fire, Mari ran into the fire without hesitation. The demon tried to approach her again and she let out a large shot but this time it wasn’t directed at her enemy. She shot with great force below her feet, opening a hole in the floor of the boat. Thanks to this, her body was shot up in the air thanks to the recoil. With a swift movement, Mari pulled out a second gun of golden color and let out another shot in midair. Using the barrage of consecutive shots, she blasted herself across the air until she landed in the ship that was sinking faster and faster. 

It didn’t take long for the demon to jump after her but Mari smiled. It wasn’t that she had perfect confidence that she would win in this kind of situation. It wasn’t like she had a perfect plan at a time like this. At a time like this, all that was left was to go all out. It was do or die.

The blonde girl undid the ribbon on her clothes and pulled off her jacket to take away the extra weight. Her eyes locked into her enemy with a glare. 

“If I use Kanan’s physical techniques.” Mari whispered under her breath.

She jumped up, landing a powerful kick followed by an explosion of light that shot out from her feet at the moment of impact. Her feet launched a barrage of kicks, each letting out an explosion more and more powerful. She hit the demon on its chest, its chin, and then sent it flying high atop the air.

“And add Dia’s alchemy.” 

Mari hurled her guns into the air along with some rubies that she pulled out of her pockets. She caught the guns in midair as they absorbed the gems which charged up her weapons with a powerful red light.

“Along with my magic then… I can do something like this!!” 

And while the demon fell across the air, she aimed at it. The guns became instantly shrouded by a massive and bright purple light that enveloped them along with all of her body. 

And at last, she pulled the trigger on both guns at the same time once the demon was close enough for a point blank hit. 

“SHINING World End Cannon!!” 

The only way her attack could be described as was: absolute destruction. 

A massive burst of plasma shrouded with a red aura exploded and blasted the demon apart high into the sky as it disintegrated its body. The power of the impact was strong enough to make the ground around Mari tremble, making the waves of the sea dance like crazy and opening up a hole in the skies as it made the clouds high above dissipate. It darkened the skies with a purple shade as her energy spread and disappeared with the wind. 

Even if the other members of the Liberation would usually make fun of her naming sense, the current scene looked exactly like the name of the attack implied, a scene you would see at the end of the world. 

  


And so, the leader of the Liberation who could not be stopped by even a demon walked away after dragging all the unconscious and hurt pirates to the shore. 

She walked away as if nothing happened but there was still something disturbing enough to shake her up. It was something that had been waiting for her all this time. 

“IMPOSSIBLE!” She yelled while letting out a gasp. “My groceries are GONE!” 

She sighed and crouched on the floor defeated. 

At that moment she had no idea that everything was about to change. It was about to change in an instant. 

A small bird appeared flying in her direction. It was a small pigeon that Mari recognized. 

“What?” 

She slowly approached it, untying the letter that was rolled up against its leg. Once Mari had taken the letter, the pigeon flew away into the distance.

“I see.” Mari didn’t hesitate to start reading the letter and her expression clearly changed into a serious one once she confirmed its content. “We should regroup as soon as possible. It’s time to bring everyone to _them._ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for this update being up so late today. I had some problems with my internet all day but I'm glad I was able to post the update before the day ended! (At least in my timezone ww) 
> 
> And at last, Mari is here! I hope that you had fun with this introductory chapter for her. And now that we are over 1k hits, I'll start working on the first one-shot side story, look forward to it! ☆


	15. The Liberation - Part 1

A large ship was lying in the middle of the solid floor by the entrance of the once sea of trees. Looking back at the once large forest, it was now an area full of decayed and dying trees. It was all shrouded by a cape of red light that shot from within the ground. 

With a day finally having come to an end, a new day arrived and the sun slowly started rising up again, letting its bright rays of light enter the windows of the stranded ship.

In contrast to the peaceful atmosphere of a new morning, things were already getting loud and noisy inside the ship. 

“Of course not! That’s absolutely unconceivable!!” The voice of the black haired alchemist echoed across the halls of the ship. 

“Why not?! Who says I need your permission to come along anyway?!” The one to shout back just as loud was the voice of a certain orange haired girl.

“I’m the one that’s saying so!” Dia slammed her fist against the palm of her hand furiously. “You are dangerous! There is no way I’m letting you come along with us to the headquarters!!”

“But there’s nothing in my hands anymore! See?!”

In response, Chika extended out the palms of her hands in front of Dia’s face, proving her that the strange black aura that had affected Ruby before was now gone.

“So what?” Dia raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. “That could just be a trap! Hmph, why should I take that as proof?!”

“Then how about you take _this_ as proof?”

Without a warning Chika’s hands squished Dia’s cheeks with force. 

“W-W-What do you think you are doing?!” 

Dia’s body tensed up as she rapidly held Chika’s wrists, trying to pull her hands away. 

“This should be enough proof!! I told you I’m not dangerous!!”

“What happened before is more than enough proof that you are! You are not going to fool me of all people!!!” 

Giving up on pulling Chika’s hands away Dia reached for Chika’s cheeks and started pulling on them with just as much force. 

The two girls let out displeased groans as they glared at each other ready to start yelling again.

But then one of the doors leading to the bedrooms opened and a third girl walked into the hall.

“Okay, that’s about enough.” 

While still half asleep, Kanan let out a yawn as she pointed her hand at the girls. A torrent of cold water shot against them, instantly breaking apart their fight and leaving both girls speechless and drenched.

  


Not too long after that, now that all of the girls were awake, they all sat across from each other in the ship’s dining room. Since this was designed as a ship that would support a large crew, the table on the dining room was very large and even with all the girls there, it still looked pretty empty. 

They didn’t have too many resources but using the things she had packed back in Uchiura, You Watanabe was currently in the kitchen, happily preparing breakfast for everyone. 

“So…” Kanan who sat next to Chika and across from Dia was the first to speak. “What was that earlier?”

“This person won’t listen to me!!” “This girl is being unreasonable!!”

Chika and Dia both glared at each other once they caught the other speaking at the same time. 

“Why would I listen to you? Your opinion does not count on this matter!!”

“Why are you being so stubborn? I already proved you that I’m not dangerous!!”

“Stubborn… me?! Hah, there you go again with your false accusations!!”

“…”

Kanan glared at the two of them and simply displayed a tiny fountain of water shooting up from the palm of her hand, letting them know that she was not afraid to put a stop to this again forcefully. 

“Chika, maybe you should calm down. Let’s hear what Dia has to say and then we will listen to you, okay?” Riko who also sat next to Chika spoke in a low tone. 

“But Riko! It’s not fair!!” Chika stared at the long haired girl with puppy eyes and a pout on her face.

“There, there. We will properly listen to you as well so take it easy for now.” 

Riko tried remaining calm as she patted Chika’s head. Seeing this, Kanan couldn’t help but be surprised at how good she had gotten in handling Chika in such a short amount of time. 

“Sis… I don’t think-”

Ruby spoke in a tiny and low voice. Despite sitting just next to Dia, the black haired girl was not able to listen to her, and soon Ruby’s voice was drowned out by Dia’s loud voice. 

“A-ny-way!” Dia crossed her arms annoyed. “As you told me before, at the end of your encounter with Tsubasa from A-RISE, her body was enveloped by a strange energy, correct?”

Kanan and Riko nodded while Chika looked away annoyed. 

“However before this happened, the one that managed to make direct physical contact with Tsubasa was Chika, correct?”

It wasn’t difficult to guess where Dia’s train of thought was going, but this is a fact that they couldn’t deny. After all they still had the scene of that moment very clear in their heads. 

After breaking through Tsubasa’s powerful attack, Chika continued moving forward, and putting all her weight behind the attack, her fist sank deeply into Tsubasa’s gut. 

With no choice but to respond, Kanan and Riko both nodded again, this time slower.

“It was the same when Ruby almost got completely taken over. She had physical contact with Chika. Not only that but I could clearly see the same strange energy pouring out of her hands at that time. And you could clearly see that too, correct Chika?”

The orange haired girl stared at the palm of her hands. Even if there was nothing out of the ordinary right now she still remembered that moment clearly as well. At the time, her thoughts were more focused on trying to help Ruby, but it was true that a dark energy was pouring out of her hands, and it was true that she felt guilt for what happened to Ruby. She knew that it was her fault. She may have been trying to argue with Dia to convince herself that she wasn’t dangerous, but in truth she was scared. She was scared of hurting people again. She was scared of not knowing the things she could do, but even then, but even so…

“It’s true.” Chika admitted. “At that moment it was me who hurt Ruby, there is no mistaking it. Maybe you are right, and maybe I can be dangerous to everyone, but I’m still coming along!!”

“Why? Do you really want to put us all through such danger once more?”

“It’s not like that. You can’t just expect me to stay here and forget about everything. All the people of Uchiura, my sisters, Kanan, You, Riko and everyone else!! I’m not abandoning them!!” Chika refuted, clenching her fist and raising her voice. “I _know_ I can be dangerous, but that doesn’t mean I have to give up here! I still don’t know what is going on, or why this is happening, but I will learn to control it no matter what it takes and then I will use to protect everyone!!”

“I am not convinced at all! In the first place, why should I-?!”

Dia stopped her sentence startled once she felt something pulling of her sleeve. It was Ruby who nervously stared at her.

“What is it Ruby?”

“Umm… Um….” The red haired pigtail girl fidgeted with her fingers. She was usually nervous about confronting her sister, but something inside her kept pushing her to speak up. “Ruby thinks… we should let Chika come with us.”

“Ruby!?”

“R-Ruby doesn’t think Chika is a bad person!! She helped Ruby a lot before! I-If it wasn’t for her, Ruby wouldn’t have been able to survive being attacked by a magical beast back in the forest…”

“You fought a magical beast? This is the first time I hear about this.”

“It’s true, zura.” Hanamaru spoke. She didn’t want to interrupt the conversation earlier but now that Ruby spoke up, she knew it was a good time to step in. “According to Ruby this is how they found this.”

Hanamaru reached for her pocket and placed a blackened out Love Gem on top of the table. It was the same Love Gem she had used to heal the sisters before. 

“This is…” Dia took the gem in her hands. 

Being an alchemist she was able to tell it was a Love Gem in an instant. 

“A-And that’s not all, sis!” Ruby decided to take advantage now that Dia’s attention was starting to drift away in the direction she wanted. “Chika also had the book of µ's!”

“What did you say?!” Dia’s eyes opened wide. She stared at Chika in shock and jumped on top of the table approaching Chika as closely as possible.

(While this happened. You was happily serving everyone’s food in the background. Hanamaru was delighted to see the plate with toasted bread and scrambled eggs. But once Dia sprawled up on top of the table, Yohane’s orange juice fell all over her and Hanamaru took the chance to steal her bread while she was distracted panicking.) 

“Is that true?!” Dia asked, her face approaching Chika’s closer and closer. “You have the book of µ's?!”

“I-I do…” Chika shrunk in her chair while trying to back away from Dia who continued moving closer and closer.

“Now, now. Calm down.” 

Dia suddenly felt a really strong grasp on her shoulder. It was You who stared at her with a scary expression on her face while holding a plate of food with her other hand. 

The black haired girl slowly nodded before returning to her seat. 

“Ahem. I apologize.” Dia awkwardly spoke. 

“Enjoy the meal~” You gave her a scary smile before serving her a plate with food and walking away.

There was silence for a few minutes while everyone stared at Dia who fidgeted with her fingers and looked away. 

The first person to speak was Chika who stared at her curiously.  
“So… you also know about µ's?”

“…” Dia remained silent for a few seconds until she answered with a tone full of energy. “Of course I do!! How could I not know about such powerful, radiant and amazing legends?!”

“Right, right?!” Chika’s eyes started lighting up. “Aren’t they great? They were so powerful and brave and worked so hard!!”

“Of course they are great! Saying they worked hard is an understatement, they are the ultimate saviors!!”

“A…Ahaha…” “There we go again.” 

Kanan scratched her head while Riko smiled awkwardly. They knew this was going to last a long time so they decided to focus on their food instead. Meanwhile Ruby listened in on the conversation with stars in her eyes, while Yohane cried to You about Hanamaru stealing her food. For better or for worse it was the start of what would be many mornings together like this. 

 

Once everyone was ready, all eight girls stood outside of the ship.

“Where exactly are we headed now?” Riko asked fearing for the worst.

“Shizuoka.” Dia was quick to reply. “It’s a city south of here, by the coast.”

Riko sighed in relief but then stepped to the back of the group, hoping that no one else saw her reaction just now.

“It’s not that far from here, but as things stand now I believe it might take us a day and a half to get there, zura!”

“We better proceed with caution too.” Dia warned them. “We have three members of the Liberation, including two alchemists. We have the princess, and three villagers from Uchiura all which came into direct confrontation with Tsubasa. And we also have a…”

“A fallen angel.” Yohane stated realizing Dia was forgetting about her.

“A what?!”

“S-She said she’s a foreign angle, zura!”

Hanamaru was fast to cover Yohane’s mouth and speak out.

“…Angle…?”

“T-That’s just how magicians from foreign lands call themselves, zura!”

“Is that so… well, if she has nowhere to go she can come along too. I believe it must be hard for foreigners to be all the way here so I am sure she must be really skilled.”

“Heh, of course I am skilled.” Yohane broke away from Hanamaru and pointed at Dia. “Allow me to show you my almighty powers by teleporting us to our destination!”

Yohane let out a powerful glow of light… but nothing happened. 

“…zura…”

“Anyway, we should go ahead and depart already.”

“Wait!” Chika crossed her arms concerned. “What about the ship? We can’t just abandon it here!”

“No need to worry.” Dia walked towards the ship and placed her hands against the surface. 

With a spark of golden light the ship instantly shrunk in size, until a miniature ship fell on the palm of Dia’s hand. 

“Here.” 

The black haired girl walked towards the young captain and handed over the ship to her.

“Is this… okay?” You asked a little hesitant.

“Of course it is!” Dia nodded. “You are the captain of our crew, aren’t you? Make sure you take care of it.”

“Yousoro!” 

The gray haired girl replied with a salute and stared at the small ship in her hands. Something about it gave it a warm and nostalgic feeling. 

Now that all their preparations were complete, the girls walked along the path in the road and finally started to make their way away from the sea of trees. 

Once they completely left the forest behind, Chika stared in shock at the scene in front of her. Compared to this, Uchiura had been a small heaven in the middle of nowhere. The orange haired girl couldn’t help but recall the stories about µ's, about the way they saved the world from decaying and saved all life from dying. 

Deep inside, Chika wanted to believe than that story was true. She wanted to believe µ's was real no matter what. But the scene before her… it weighted heavily on her heart. 

The world before Chika was a desolate and destroyed land. There wasn’t a single plant in view, not even any signs of grass. Wide stumps from what had seemed to be trees were broken into pieces and decaying. Once she walked close enough she noticed the wood was weak enough to fall apart by a single touch. 

It wasn’t only plants, but there were no signs of any animals nearby either. There was only a somber silence that made her wish she could at least listen to the crying seagulls she was so used to. The cold wind of autumn hitting her skin reminded her that she was alive at that moment and that this was real.

Moving forward, and despite how much she walked along with everyone, the scenery around her didn’t get any better. As the skies started to darken with somber clouds, they walked by places where there seemed to have been buildings and civilization, however, most of the buildings were already collapsed and completely destroyed. 

“Say… Dia.” Chika spoke in a low tone as she followed behind the black haired girl who continued to lead the way. 

“What is it?”

“You believe in µ's as well, right?”

“Of course I do. I understand if you have doubts since this is your first time seeing this, but I still believe in them.”

“I just don’t get it. How did it come to this?”

“Unfortunately.” Dia sighed as she glanced up at the somber skies. “I don’t have any answers. Even as an alchemist, I don’t understand. There are too many inconsistencies and everything points out towards µ's never having existed, but, there is proof that says otherwise as well.”

“Huh?”

“The Love Gems. If you read the book you know they are powerful relics that were discovered by µ's. I believe that if we manage to get our hands on nine of them, we may be able to figure out something. If we take into account the one the princess has, the one that You found, the one that Ruby obtained from the magical beast, and the ones Hanamaru and I received in the forest, we have five gems on our possession. That means we are that much closer to finding the truth.”

“The truth huh…” 

Chika stared at her own hands. There were many things about the world she didn’t know yet. In fact, it felt like this was the first time in her life she had truly stepped into the world. It felt like waking up from a dream, like if everything up till now had just been a lie. But this is exactly why she couldn’t stop believing in µ's. µ's was the only connection and proof she had that everything until now had been real. And as long as µ's was real, there was still hope for this rotten world. Just the thought of letting go of that hope terrified her to her very core, so she would cling unto it no matter what. 

As they moved onward across the desolate land, Chika wasn’t the only one who felt impacted about this. Kanan bit her lip as she stared at the state things were in. It’s not as if she didn’t know things were bad, but she never imagined they would get this bad. This was way beyond her expectations. This made her think of how much effort Mari must be putting by leading the Liberation, but thinking about that also pierced her heart with pain, after all she… no. For now, she didn’t want to think about it. Even if it was a cowardly thing to do, she wanted to escape from those thoughts.

Looking at this place, the young captain who had always gone sailing with her father and his crew felt confusion above anything else. She had clear memories of going sailing and exploring lots of different places when she was younger. She didn’t even need to go that far back to remember the very last time she got to go on an expedition. At that time, all the places they had visited looked so bright and full of life. At the time everyone was so happy, and yet… was that really the truth? Or were they just doing that in order to protect her from the truth?

All kinds of thoughts clouded the minds of the girls who were used to their peaceful life in Uchiura. Reminded of their lives where their everyday was the same, and yet, it was an everyday that was only possible because of someone else’s sacrifice. 

The atmosphere had become heavy, everyone present could tell. But everyone also knew there was nothing they could do but to move onward.

 

After walking for the most part of the day, the girls reached a long road that went across a small string of ocean that slightly divided the land. 

“A…Are we there yet?” Yohane complained almost out of breath.

“Not yet, zura….”

Hanamaru who was just as tired leaned on Yohane’s back, using her as support.

“I have to admit, this trip is longer than I thought.” Riko was also short on breath and covered in sweat just like everyone else. She could feel her legs stinging with pain but that wasn’t all.

“I’m hungryyyy!!!” Chika voiced out the complaint Riko was too embarrassed to say out loud.

“R-Ruby too.”

“Me… too…” Dia finally accepted.

The black haired girl came to a halt and plopped down on the floor. 

“We are taking a break.” She let out with an exhausted voice.

Everyone else fell down on the cold ground relieved. The cold wind felt refreshing and they forgot about their worries for just a moment. 

“What about food…?” Chika asked after her stomach let out a loud growl. 

“I will take care of it.” Dia slowly sat down on the floor after catching her breath. “This is a perfect place, I can fish out our dinner from the river. In the meantime I want you girls to set up a tent and get wood for a campfire. We are staying the night here.”

“Eh? Here?” Riko asked confused.

“A good place as any, everything is the same anyway. And I did say it would take us a day and a half, it is best if we stop and regain our energy. Tiring ourselves out too much will just place us in danger.”

“Dia is right.” Kanan agreed. “We will just be making ourselves too vulnerable if we keep going and it seems like the sun will go away soon.”

“Can’t we just stay in the boat?” Yohane complained too tired to bother getting up.

“Something so big is bound to get some attention at a place like this, might as well set up a flag that says “please attack us.”” 

“Tch, you don’t have to be so rude about it.” Yohane looked away displeased by Dia’s tone, but she knew she couldn’t argue back. 

“Okay then, in that case I’ll help gathering some wood for the campfire! Right, Chika?” 

The gray haired girl locked her arm with Chika’s and stood up cheerfully, dragging the orange haired girl with her.

“Hmm…” Chika stopped to think for a moment. She felt too tired and gathering wood sounded like a pain while being so hungry, but then an idea crossed her head: alchemy. This task would surely be easy if she had access to that. “Then I choose Ruby to join us for: team campfire!” 

“P-Pigi!” Ruby let out a squeal as she was dragged away by Chika.

“W-Wait! Where are you going with Ruby?!” 

Dia reacted but she was quickly pushed away by Kanan.

“Okay, okay. Just let them be, I’ll go help you get that fish.”

“K-Kanan?!”

“Let’s go, Dia!!”

“Ruby! B-Be careful and don’t go too far away!!” Dia yelled at Ruby who was now in the distance.

After being pushed away by Kanan, Dia also left the scene, leaving only three girls in the spot. 

“So I guess that makes us team tent, zura!” Hanamaru smiled at Riko and Yohane. 

“Y-Yeah. Let’s do our best.” Riko wasn’t too confident about being of help but she knew she had no choice. 

“Good luck with that, I’ll just be team nap here for a while.” Yohane waved her arm without bothering to get up from the floor.

 

Now that they were slightly divided and preparing to spend the night there, Dia and Kanan sat by the shore while holding fishing rods which Dia made out of alchemy.

“I haven’t gone fishing in a while.” Kanan spoke out loud as she stared at the small stream of ocean before her. “This is kind of nostalgic.”

“Right?” Dia felt a strange mix of happiness and sadness by being here like this. “Since my parents are famous fisherman they would take us along to do this a lot after all.”

“Yeah, doing that was fun. I remember feeling lost at first, but I really loved going there every weekend with you and… Mari.”

Dia could easily recognize the change of tone in Kanan’s voice. She let the bait fall into the water once again and then she decided to confront Kanan head on.

“Are you still thinking about what happened with Mari?”

“Y…Yeah. I’m not sure how I’m going to face her once I see her again.”

“You say that, but you had no problem facing me.”

“T-That’s different! I mean, I was scared too! But I guess… maybe because we’ve known each other for longer, sometimes it’s easier to talk to you?”

“You worry too much. Besides, it is not like you had much of a choice either. I know that and Mari does too.”

“I know that! But still I…-”

“Huh?!”

Dia interrupted Kanan by accident. This was when her fishing rod started slightly shaking after finally catching something. 

“Did you get something?!”

“Y-Yeah…” Dia groaned as she started to place a lot of force on her legs and arms. “A really big one too.”

Kanan was quick to realize Dia was having trouble reeling in her prey and held Dia by her waist while pulling her back.

“You are not going to escape!!” Dia screamed as she struggled. “You are not going to escape from Dia Kurosawa!!”

“W-What kind of fish is this even?!” 

Kanan struggled to keep Dia on the ground. 

“I do not know, and it does not matter! Kanan, we will get this fish no matter what!!”

The two screamed while doing their best to pull out the fish, and with one last strong pull, Dia’s prey was forced out of the water.

The two stared at the scene to check on it as the water splashed out. And then they saw it, what they fished out of the ocean was: a certain shining blonde girl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are you guys excited for Sunshine S2 tomorrow? (Or technically, today!) I can't wait!!!!


	16. The Liberation - Part 2

_Mari, wake up!_

_Please dear, wake up!_

What was going on? A young and small Mari slowly opened her eyes. The warmth of her bed was making her body heavy, all she wanted was to go back to sleep. Why was she awake? Looking around she was able to notice her mother who continued to yell at her to wake up. Once the expression of panic in her mother’s face registered properly, Mari’s eyes opened wide.

The first thing she noticed now that she was properly awake was the sound of heavy rain enveloping the building where she slept. Followed by this, roaring thunder would crash against the ground so strong that it felt as if the very earth itself trembled every time there was an impact.

“Come on, Mari. We have to go now! The village is under attack!!”

“ _What?_ ” She spoke confused as she quickly got out of bed. 

“It’s pouring out there so make sure you are prepared, hurry!” 

Being woken up in the middle of the night was bad enough, but seeing her mom in such a panic was causing little Mari to feel panic as well. She rapidly ran towards her drawer and pulled out a rain cloak. It looked like the transparent cloak was too big for her since the sleeves were too long for her arms. 

Once she finally stepped out of the house, to say that it was pouring was an understatement. It was a storm like she had never seen before. The moment she stepped outside she felt as though she would be swiped off her feet by the wind alone.

“Listen, Mari.” Her mother spoke. “I have to go give backup to the people or this village won’t make it to see another day. I need you to go and stay safe at the house of that famous captain, you know how to get there, right?”

Mari was really scared. She didn’t want to see her mom like this and she didn’t want to be left alone but she felt as though she had no choice. 

“ _Yes._ ” She replied with a nod.

“That’s my girl. Please be careful!” 

Giving Mari a pat in the head, her mom rushed forward into the storm. It only took seconds for Mari to lose sight of her figure. The storm was so dense that she could barely see anything at all for that matter. 

(What do I do?)

Mari thought. Her legs were trembling a little and she didn’t understand the situation at all. The village is under attack? Why? What is attacking it? Who is attacking it? And if the village was in danger that also meant…

A disturbing feeling of dread covered her body. Instead of rushing towards the safe place like instructed Mari rushed back into the large building of the hotel where she lived. She ran as fast as she could towards her room. Thanks to how long the rain cloak was, she tripped, falling with her face flat against the floor but that didn’t stop her. She got right back up and ran towards her balcony. There she saw it, something that gave her a faint sense of relief. Even within the darkness of this storm there was a bright shining light calling for her down from the port area. 

Mari left the building once more. It was the middle of the night and everything was completely dark except for the moments falling thunder illuminated the place. Simply moving forward was already a difficult task but she made her way towards that bright light.

“Mari?” A small ponytail girl asked her. 

“Kanan!!” Mari jumped into her arms without question. “What’s going on…?”

“I don’t know.” Kanan shook her head. She embraced Mari back without caring about getting wet. “I’ve heard the village is under attack by a demon but-”

“WHAT? A _demon_?!”

“Well, that’s just what I’ve heard, but it sounds impossible. I was told to make it to the captain’s house but I wanted to make sure you were okay first.”

“I-I’m fine. Let’s go.”

“Let’s go!”

The two looked at each other and smiled. For a moment Mari forgot about being in the middle of the storm or about what happened in the village. She followed the small girl that began to lead the way. Kanan was always the leader that would take them on adventures. This felt just like all those times, there was nothing to be scared about. 

Even if the wind threatened to blow her away, Mari held a tight grasp on the back of Kanan’s overalls. She was still startled whenever lightning hit the trees in the distance but looking at Kanan moving onward despite that, it filled her with courage. 

It didn’t take long for Kanan to stop walking. This was because she had seen a figure in the middle of the storm.

“Is that…?” Kanan whispered under her breath.

“Kanan?”

“…”

And as they slowly stepped closer, Mari was able to hear a familiar voice coming from that figure.

“This storm is not about to defeat me. All I have to do is to make it to the safe place… I can do it… I… Ouch!!”

It was the voice of a younger Dia Kurosawa. The black haired girl moved across the storm on her own, however she cried out the moment the fell down on the hard ground. Even if moving in the storm was already difficult, Dia had a harder time because of a giant sized bag on her back. The bag was equipped with all kinds of luggage and it was obvious that it was ridiculously heavy.

“This is… nothing!!” 

She stood up again but was blown down into the floor by the powerful wind. 

“Dia?! What are you doing?!” Kanan asked as she ran to her aid, moving away the bag that fell on top of Dia.

“I am just trying to make it to the safe zone but…”

“So you heard there was a crisis and you were just trying to save your luggage?”

“…” The black haired girl remained silent for a while before admitting it. “Yes.”

“Dia.” Kanan crossed her arms. “A lost possession can be replaced, a lost life can't.”

“So you are telling me to just abandon this here?!”

“ _Dia!!_ ” Mari walked closer clinging unto the black haired girl who also wore a raincoat. “This isn’t the time to be messing around, there is a demon attacking the village you know!!”

“I am not messing around!! Wait!! T-T-T-There is a what?!”

“Now, now.” Kanan tried to calm them down. “We don’t know that for sure but Mari is right, it’s not the time to think about saving your stuff.”

“…” Dia sighed, putting down her bag. “Fine then. At least… let me take this.”

She opened the bag and pulled out an old book, but that happened with a very bad timing. Thanks to the powerful wind that ran across the storm the book was blown out of Dia’s hands and it disappeared into the distant dark skies.

“…”

Dia stared in disbelief at her own hands. She did not react, she did not even say anything but tears started to form below her eyes.

“It’s okay.” Kanan grabbed her wrist and began to pull her away. “Once this is over we’ll find it for you! We are The Liberation after all!!”

“The Liberation is a lame name…” Dia pouted her lips as she tried to stop herself from crying.

“WHAT? Do you have a better name then?”

“O-Of course I do!!”

“REALLY? What is it?”

“Not telling you!!”

“Don’t be like that!!” Mari complained back at her.

Now that Dia had joined them as well Mari felt a lot better and a lot more at peace. This truly was just another adventure, or so she thought. 

As she continued to walk across the silent town at night, she couldn’t help but notice the heavy atmosphere surrounding the place. Maybe it was because everything was so quiet and all lights were off, but there was something disturbing about being there in the middle of the night. And then once she turned her head to look at the sea nearby, she saw something that made her heart skip a beat. It was something strange, like a giant figure standing in the middle of the ocean with a faint light pouring out of it. She couldn’t tell what it was at all, and it was hard to see because of the storm and the waves in the sea were going crazy but for a moment there was only one thing that came to her mind: an angel. Even if she thought that, she couldn’t tell if the figure had a humanoid form at all and the size was almost twice as tall as a regular adult.

“ _What_ is that?” She asked out loud with a surprised voice.

“Huh?” 

Kanan and Dia quickly turned around to look towards the direction where Mari was pointing but they had trouble seeing anything at all because of the storm. 

“I cannot see anything. What are you talking about Mari?”

“I don’t know.” Mari rubbed her eyes. “I thought I saw something over the sea.”

“I-I-I-I-Is it the demon?!” Dia clung tightly unto Kanan’s arm.

“Don’t worry, if there’s a demon I’ll defeat it!!”

“As expected from Kanan!!” Dia gave her a faint smile without letting go of her.

Kanan was quick to guide them away from the shore once they reached a path that went deeper into the town. Mari felt relieved by the thought of moving away from the strange figure and the tall sea waves were already enough to make her uneasy on their own. She followed Kanan through solid land as they moved through a path covered with buildings and trees. They continued to make it through the lonely streets of Numazu as the sound of rain falling in the rooftops echoed in the silence of the night.

But suddenly, a powerful flash of light illuminated the place. As some buildings went out of their view a shocking scene developed in front of their eyes. Kanan was quick to push Mari and Dia behind her as soon as noticed something dangerous.

They saw some of the villagers fighting a strange creature. They were somewhat in the distance but still close enough for them to see how the battle developed. The buildings around them had completely collapsed along with the trees in the area. It was as if the entire landscape in that spot had changed thanks to an unfolding disaster. It was hard to see what it was, but they could faintly make out its appearance whenever flashes of water magic flews towards it. It was a tall creature with humanoid form, its body was enveloped by a strange black aura but it looked like it had scaly silver skin. And what stood out the most were four large horns that shot out from the top of its head. There was no mistaking it, that night, they saw a demon. 

Despite the villagers doing their best to push the creature back, it simply brushed away their magic with a swing of its arm. All it took was a roar of the creature to send some villagers flying against the ground and for it to slowly make its way forward.

Mari felt her body freeze over with fear. She could only hear the disturbing, distorted roars of the overwhelming creature and the sound of Dia crying just next to her.

“Keep going!” A young girl with short orange hair yelled at them. Kanan knew it was one of Chika’s sisters. “You are almost there! Hurry to the captain’s house! You’ll be safe there!”

She did not have the leisure to speak to them for much longer. She rapidly stood up and charged at the demon that kept pushing back the villagers.

Mari knew they had to get away from there but her body wouldn’t move. She could feel the impact of the storm hitting her body, she could feel her heart beating and her own breathing, but she couldn’t get her body to react at all.

“Let’s go.” 

Kanan’s voice snapped her out of it. With Dia clinging unto one of her arms and using her free hand to grasp Mari’s wrist, Kanan began to pull the girls away from there as fast as she could. She ran at full speed while turning her back on the people that continued to fight for the safety of Numazu. All she could do now was to believe in them. All she could do now was to protect her friends. 

And then, they finally made it to the house of the captain. It was a small house located to the south of the town and it looked like a large amount of people were gathered there.

“Dia.” A tall woman with short black hair spoke. She held a tiny girl with red hair who slept in her arms as she spoke. “What took you so long?! You had me and your father worried sick!!”

“I-I’m sorry.” Dia spoke in a faint voice without letting go of Kanan.

“I’m glad to see you girls made it.” The captain spoke and greeted them with a salute. “I just recharged my energy so I will go provide some back up, everything is going to be okay.”

Having said that he rushed towards the place where flashes of light spread thanks to the clash of powerful magic. 

Mari let out a small sigh of relief. They were finally safe and the adults will surely take care of this. Everything would be fine now but…

“Where is Chika…?” Kanan asked while she looked around. Despite the place being full with people, most people were currently engaged in combat so it wasn’t hard to get a good glance at everyone who was present.

“I’m sorry.” A girl with long hair spoke. It was another of Chika’s sisters. “Chika and her other friend were caught up in an incident earlier. They are in the other room and our mother is currently tending to her, so please wait until she’s done.”

“An incident…?” Kanan asked with a shaky voice. “W-What happened?”

“Don’t worry.” Chika’s sister shook her head. 

Kanan clenched her fists frustrated. Just what happened? What kind of incident was she involved in? And she was just told that she was in an incident with her “other friend.” That meant that You was caught up in whatever happened as well. Kanan was glad she was able to bring Mari and Dia to safety but this still crushed her heart with worry. 

Mari couldn’t help but stare at Kanan who continued to be lost in thought. It was the first time she had seen this kind of expression in Kanan’s face. She couldn’t tell what was going on, she had heard the name of Kanan’s other friends a few times before but she had never really met them in person. After all it seemed like Chika lived all the way on the small village of Uchiura and Mari had never bothered to go past the general area of Numazu before. It wasn’t somewhere she could reach without going to the trouble of taking a bus or a boat to sail there.

But then their peace was rapidly cut short again. The sound of an explosion resounded nearby. She rapidly followed Kanan outside as all the adults ran startled to check.  
It was the demon. The demon had completely broken through the defenses of the town and was now headed in their direction. 

Dia’s mother left a small Ruby in Dia’s care and rushed to fight the malicious creature. The young black haired girl ran back into the house while trying not to cry and making sure to protect Ruby at all costs.  
However Mari could not even run away, all she could do was stare at the menacing creature as it swiped the floor with everyone who tried to oppose it. Was this the end?

No.

“You aren’t going any further.” The voice of a legendary captain spoke. 

Rising in the middle of the storm, the legendary captain stood up. He threw away his long captain coat, clenched his fists and charged at the demon. He let out a powerful punch that resounded with great strength across the town. The demon was forced back by the impact but in turn returned another punch while its fist was charged up by a strange dark aura. 

The captain was barely able to dodge the attack that tore apart into the air, sending a powerful impact that made a building behind it collapse. He charged once again, releasing another punch that let out a large water spell that took the shape of a dragon and enveloped the beast but the demon was not down yet. It stood up and continued moving forward, slowly but surely.

“Tch.” Kanan clicked her tongue. “We have to do something!! We have to help!!” 

Having said this, the small ponytail girl ran off deeper into the town.

“Kanan? Kanan wait!!” 

Mari followed after her. She didn’t know why, but she couldn’t let Kanan go on her own.

“W-What are you doing?!”

“There’s a weapon shop nearby, we’ll borrow some and fight back!!”

“Wait, wait!! We can’t do anything against something like that!!”

“So what? We just wait until it hurts even more people?! Mari! Weren’t you the one that said The Liberation had to protect everyone?!”

Images going even farther back reached Mari. It all passed through her head fast but they were likely the most important memories to her. 

It hadn’t been too long ago since she arrived in Numazu. She had moved here after coming from a foreign country and everything felt so different. Her parents were always busy and even when attending classes at school, she felt like she was different. She felt like she stood out in a bad way, like she was the odd one out. And above all, she felt alone. 

That day ended just like any other day. Once classes were over, a tiny Mari packed her colorful notebooks back into her bag and walked away from class. As always, there was no one to say goodbye to her. There was no one to say “see you tomorrow.” 

With her parents busy, there was no one to pick her up from school either. She simply walked away while looking down into the ground. With this she would return home and another day would be over just the same. But this day was different.

As she walked back home, she could hear the sound of footsteps walking behind her. Mari rapidly turned around but she was not able to see anyone around. She simply continued walking back home, but then she was startled by the sound of a loud thud. 

The moment Mari turned around she saw a girl with short black hair collapsed in the ground just next to a wall. The girl rapidly sat down and despite trying not to cry she couldn’t fight against it in the end.

“Dia!! Are you okay?!” 

Another girl ran from behind the wall to tend at the black haired girl. After the girl with blue hair helped the girl get up and patted her on the head, the black haired girl stopped crying.

Mari tilted her head as she saw both girls. Once they saw Mari had noticed them, both jumped up startled. 

“Oh.” A tiny Kanan spoke out loud. 

Kanan locked her gaze on Mari’s eyes and slowly started walking forward while Dia followed her.

“…”

The more Kanan walked forward, the more Mari slowly stepped back. Mari continued to step back as she walked by a fountain but Kanan suddenly stopped. 

Instead of chasing after Mari, Kanan’s action was simple, she extended out her arms and asked her: “Hug?”

“ _What?_ ” Mari was confused.

Kanan only smiled at her while Dia continued to hide behind her. 

And so, she asked once more: “Hug?”

Mari began to approach her slowly, she was confused but she was also happy she was interacting with someone at last. She continued to approach Kanan but then the ponytail girl pounced at her and embraced her without warning. Mari’s body tensed up but then the black haired girl joined in, embracing her tightly as well. 

This was the start of their friendship. This was the day Mari’s everyday life had changed.

After this, she had someone to talk to. She had someone to spend time with. She had someone to play with after school and she had someone that would tell her: “see you tomorrow.”

Even if it was just silly games by little kids, the next scene was really important to Mari as well. 

After school had ended, Dia had run away and hid behind her without warning. Once Mari looked around she saw a strange bobbly creature that had walked into the classroom.

“What is that…?” Mari asked as she slowly stepped back.

“I-I-I don’t know!!” 

“Isn’t it a monster?” Kanan pointed out as she walked towards the girls.

“T-Those are real?!” Dia yelled in panic.

“Weren’t there a lot of those in your book as well?”

“Certainly…”

“Mari!” Kanan extended out her arm while speaking to the blonde girl.

She was fast to realize what Kanan meant and then handed her a big and heavy book that was on her desk. Kanan then hurled the book, squishing the monster which dissipated into fading light.

“Well, that’s that!” Kanan winked at them, giving them thumbs up.

Mari and Dia’s eyes lit up after seeing that. From there on they began to call themselves: “The Liberation.” They claimed that they were strong enough to have defeated a monster and based on the story in Dia’s book, they said they would protect everyone no matter what. Even if it was something as small as helping their classmates they were content with this. They made great plans for what their organization would become and Mari had even come up with the designs for some uniforms. At that moment it felt like they were unstoppable. 

It was a perfect reality that Mari wanted to cling unto. But now that only felt like heavy weight on her shoulders.

“Mari?” Kanan asked, bringing her back to that reality in the middle of the storm. “If you are not going, I’m going! I have to do something!!”

“Wait!!” Mari ran after her. “I can’t let you go on your own. It’s at times like this that we have to stand together!”

And so the two girls ran with all their might across the storm and towards the shop with weapons. They had grabbed anything random they were able to find. Mari had a long mace and Kanan had picked up and old sword. 

“Kanan… wait!” 

Mari had difficulty keeping up with her pace and regretted picking up such a heavy weapon. Kanan stopped running to let Mari catch up, but then a strange voice reached the two of them.

“Only the two of us survived.”  
  
A voice spoke. It was hard to tell who was speaking, but it was clearly a voice they had never heard before.  
  
“It’s a miracle we were spared.” Someone else replied. “I never thought _that_ would be so powerful.”  
  
Kanan and Mari both remained in silence as they listened to these voices, voices that were clearer every time, followed by footsteps that approached them.

And then, they came face to face with two tall figures that stood before them. Even with them stepping so close, Mari still had a hard time looking at their faces thanks to the storm. No, that was not all, there was something else there. There was something that prevented her from seeing them clearly even though they were right in front of her, but she couldn’t tell what it was at all.

“You were eavesdropping on us just now, weren’t you?”

One of the mysterious people asked. 

Kanan and Mari looked at each other and replied by slowly shaking their heads, but there was no use lying.

“Forget everything you heard.” “Don’t worry, we’ll help you forget.”

At that moment, Mari was able to feel a clear killing intent full of malice. Kanan rapidly walked forward to shield Mari. 

It all happened in an instant. 

The next thing Mari knew Kanan was lying on the floor covered in blood. She did not even have a second to panic. Mari’s body was hit with a powerful impact and then her consciousness faded away.

…

…

“Mari?”

The blonde girl’s eyes slowly opened. It was already late at night. Where was she now? She felt her body being incredibly heavy and completely drenched. The first thing she could notice was a pair of violet eyes looking at her, eyes that she knew all too well. She looked around and noticed a group of girls surrounding her while sitting around a campfire. 

After being rescued and pulled out of the ocean by chance, Mari finally woke up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm truly sorry for posting the update so late this time, a few things came up but here it is! I wonder if anyone can tell what's my top favorite thing to reference by now. ~~Golden Sun~~
> 
> By the way, just in case it's a little confusing.  
> When Mari speaks like THIS?! That's her fake english accent.  
> But when she _speaks like this._ That's when she speaks with more soft, proper english. Even though this story is already in english but you get it ww


	17. The Liberation - Part 3

“Mari?” 

The blonde girl could hear multiple voices calling out to her as she slowly regained consciousness.  
Her body still felt heavy and her wet clothes allowed the cold of the night to assault her body, waking her up much faster.

“ _What?_ ” She murmured under her breath as she looked around. 

There were some girls she didn’t know mixed with some familiar faces, but between all those faces, there was one that stood out the most. It took her some time to realize, but she was being held in the arms of the person she less expected to see. It was one of the most important people in her life. 

Mari did not stop to question why she was here and she did not even stop to question her own situation. Instead she took an action entirely out of instinct. She embraced the blue haired ponytail girl tightly.

“Mari…?”

Kanan was startled and her entire body froze in the spot for a moment.

“I missed you.” That was all she could mutter with her shaky voice. “I missed you, Kanan.”

The ponytail girl remained speechless for a few seconds but she ended up accepting Mari’s embrace. 

“I missed you too, Mari.” She replied, hugging her back and patting her head.

The black haired girl smiled as she looked at her friend’s happy reunion. 

After Mari let go of Kanan, she moved closer to the campfire for warmth. Hanamaru and Ruby slowly stepped back nervously, sitting behind Yohane and You to hide. After all, the mission they had been sent to do at the sea of trees had ended in failure. It was the first time after joining The Liberation that their mission had ended like this, so they didn’t want to find out how Mari would react to this just yet.

While the other members of The Liberation were scared to face their leader, Dia however, approached Mari directly. Putting the mission aside, there was something that was bothering her greatly.

“So?” Dia crossed her arms and tapped her foot while staring at Mari. “What happened?”

“Huh?” Mari looked at Dia confused. She was crouching down while moving her hands closer to the fire for warmth.

“Don’t “huh” me! Why did we pull you out of the ocean?!”

“ _What?_ Is that what happened?”

“Mari…” Dia glared at her. Even if all she said was her name it was easy to tell the black haired girl was growing increasingly irritated.

“What Dia says is true.” Kanan crouched next to Mari. She knew things would likely end in chaos if she didn’t step in. “I was there when she pulled you out of the ocean. After that we gave you CP-”

“K-Kanan!” Dia rapidly covered the ponytail’s girl mouth and then whispered into her ear. (“She doesn’t need to know that.”)

“Eh?!” Kanan replied back with a whisper after breaking free from Dia. (“But it’s true that we-!”)

(“Shhh!!!”)

Mari stared confused at the two of them while they continued to silently fight even though she could clearly hear their whispers. 

“A-Anyway.” Dia coughed trying to regain her composure. “We made sure you were okay and brought you here. So we were waiting for you to wake up.”

“Did you get attacked or something?” 

“Hmm…” Mari brought a finger to her chin. She was lost in thought for a few seconds but then a light bulb lit up over her head. “I remember now!” 

“?”

“Let’s see…” She started to recall all the events that led up to this, one by one. “I was out buying groceries at the shopping district, then some pirates appeared, then I had to fight a demon and-”

“Y-You what?!” 

Kanan interrupted her but Mari simply shrugged.

“Then I lost all the groceries I bought.”

“You… what?” Dia spoke in a slow and irritated tone. “You didn’t buy that with our funds for nothing, did you?”

“Oops~”

“Don’t give me that!! You know very well that-!”

“So.” Kanan pulled Dia closer and covered her mouth before the conversation completely went off topic. “What happened after that?”

“I was going back to the headquarters but then… I suddenly got teleported away?”

“Uh-oh…” Another voice whispered from the spot where all the other girls were. 

“Is something wrong, zura?” Hanamaru asked after noticing Yohane’s suspicious look on her face.

“I-I-It’s nothing!!” 

Yohane tried to brush it off, but there was something bothering her. Going back to earlier this day, she remembered what happened soon after she left the forest with everyone else.

_“Heh, of course I am skilled.” She pointed at Dia as she started to concentrate on her magic. “Allow me to show you my almighty powers by teleporting us to our destination!”_

After doing that, she remembers releasing her magic, and there was clearly a flash of light proving that it activated. But nothing happened. At the moment she thought she was weird. Even if it’s something like a small breeze something always happens whenever she tried to use her magic. She had no solid proof, but what if her magic teleported this blonde girl at that moment? What if the reason Mari was teleported was because she was pointing at Dia when she used her magic, and Dia was thinking of that person at that moment? It wasn’t impossible but…

“T-There’s no way.” Yohane muttered.

She looked away trying to ignore her guilt, but the moment she looked away her gaze met with Riko and You’s who stared at her suspiciously as if saying: “We know what you did.”

“S-So you are saying you suddenly got teleported deep into the river?!” Dia still couldn’t accept Mari’s explanation at all.

“YES.” Mari’s body shuddered just from remembering. “Next thing I knew I was being taken away by the current while deep underwater. I tried to use my magic to shield myself so I could breathe, but I couldn’t make it to the surface… and then… I don’t remember, and then I woke up here.”

“…”

“So there you have it!”

“My word!” Dia stood up in shock. “Has the enemy already gotten this powerful?! We cannot let our guard down for a second then!!”

“I don’t think it was the enemy at all.” Riko and You stated at the same time while still glaring at Yohane.

Chika and Ruby however only stared at each other confused. They were the only ones that hadn’t caught up on who the culprit was. 

“By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask this but isn’t our group bigger than before? _Who_ are these girls?” 

“It’s a long story but…” Kanan scratched her head. She knew she inevitably was going to end up recapping all the events up till now to Mari. “Those are Chika and You from back in Uchiura.”

“WHAT?” Mari stared at the orange haired girl curiously.

She stood up and walked closer, leaning in closer and staring into Chika’s eyes while standing just millimeters away from her. Chika stared back at Mari, slowly leaning back as Mari continued to invade her personal space. 

“Wasn’t Chika a super TINY kid?”

“Mari.” Dia placed her hand on Mari’s shoulder, bringing her back to reality. “We’ve all grown older since back then.” 

“I-It’s okay, I’ll be forever _young._ ”

“I don’t know about forever but we are pretty young anyway.” Kanan laughed nervously. She wondered if worrying about her age at this point already was normal. 

“Hmm? Oh, and you are that CAPTAIN’s daughter, aren’t you?”

“Yousoro!”

“And then…” 

Mari moved on to look at the girl with wine red hair that sat next to You. However Riko rapidly tried to hide behind You. In fact she wasn’t the only one hiding. Yohane moved behind Riko thanks to the guilt she felt by thinking that she teleported Mari into the ocean. Hanamaru then hid behind Yohane since she didn’t want to report on the mission failure and Ruby hid behind Hanamaru. Needless to say, their “hiding” was pretty obvious.

“What are you doing?” Mari simply walked to the side, getting a clear view of everyone who was trying to “hide” form her. 

The blonde crossed her arms as she looked at Ruby and Hanamaru.

“Pigi!!” “Zura!” Both hugged each other as they jumped up startled.

“W-We totally didn’t fail the mission, zura!” 

“M-Maru?” Ruby looked at Hanamaru who was clearly saying too much due to being nervous. 

“We didn’t fail and mess up the forest because we let the root of power get stolen!! We totally didn’t, zura!!”

“Hm? OF COURSE you didn’t! Just as I expected from you!”

“Zura…” 

“P-Pigii… so this is how it ends.”

“Hmph! Why are you so scared to face the truth?” Yohane stood up and faced the blonde girl. “Yes! The forest has perished!! It was all thanks to my dark demonic powe—!”

Yohane was silenced in a second as a grand blast of plasma flew just next to her, crashing against the landscape in the distance.

“…”

“Hm? What did you say?” Mari asked casually while pointing her gun at her.

“I-I-I’m sorry!!” Yohane panicked. “It wasn’t me!! Some weird girls attacked us and messed up everything but I have nothing to do with them!!”

“Then it’s no PROBLEM!” Mari smiled putting away her gun.

And then she looked at the last girl who she recognized fast. 

“The PRINCESS?!”

“Not again.” Riko sighed burying her face in You’s back.

“It appears for some reason she ended up with these girls here, even though she does not want to tell us any details. I already tried to ask several times but she claims to have lost her memories.” Dia shrugged.

“ _What?_ Come to think of it… why are Kanan and these girls here…? What happened?” 

“It’s kind of a long story.” Kanan sighed. “You see-”

But she was interrupted by a growling sound.

“Zura-”

And then more growling sounds followed.

“It seems I have run out of mana to maintain this vessel, I require to consume something edible to regain balance.”

And then Mari’s own stomach growled. It was only until now that she remembered she hadn’t eaten anything all day.

“Did we even get anything to eat in the end?” You asked curiously. 

“Of course!” Dia replied triumphantly. “I am not the oldest daughter of the Kurosawa family for nothing!”

Dia then pulled out the fish which she had stored into a small cube using her alchemy and then created a small grill to prepare their food. 

As the nine girls sat around the campfire and ate dinner together, they explained everything that had happened up till now to Mari.

“I see.” Mari stopped for a moment to think. “The situation is worse than I thought, but there is something that could be good there too.”

“Something that could be good?” You was confused. 

After all they have gone through; it was difficult to tell whether or not there was anything positive to take out of their experiences. Even if she didn’t want to be negative around the other girls, she realized her thoughts had been very negative for a while now.

_“A-RISE.”_

“Just as I thought.” Dia nodded in agreement.

“Wait a moment.” Riko interrupted them. “How is A-RISE something good?”

“It’s simple.” Mari replied. “If you met someone from A-RISE, a group of heroes mentioned in the legend, then it also means µ's may be out there.”

Mari’s logic wasn’t hard to follow. It was a theory that made perfect sense, but even then, Riko couldn’t help but to feel uneasy. There was something that bothered her a lot, she was hesitant to speak but she felt like discussing this was important even if she could hurt someone by saying this.

“If µ's is really out there, then why is the world still like this?” Riko asked. “If they are legendary heroes then why are they letting this happen?”

There was no immediate response. Deep inside this was something that was bothering everyone. People like Hanamaru and Yohane weren’t too attached to µ's, they couldn’t find any flaws in Riko’s logic. After all, who would believe that a group of characters in a book would conveniently fix everything just like that? 

You and Kanan didn’t have any solid opinion either, their only attachment had been their friend, but did they really believe in µ's deep inside? 

And then there was the remaining girls, the ones who had a solid belief that µ's was real. They were the ones who had found themselves admiring those heroes and wanting to be like them one day. 

There was no way for Riko to know, no way for no one but those girls to know how much weight the existence of that legend carried on them. 

Distant memories of that day were still fresh in their heads.

 

“Dia, let’s go play! Want to go to my house?” A tiny Mari asked Dia inside an old classroom. 

However, she received no response from the little girl with black hair. Despite classes already being over and most of the students having left, Dia continued to sit on her spot. She was deeply distracted by an old book which she held in her hands.

“Dia?”

No response.

“Hmph.” Mari puffed out her cheeks annoyed.

The little blonde girl walked towards Dia and pulled the book right out of her hands.

“Pigi!! What are you doing?!” 

Dia quickly stood up but Mari ran for it. Dia chased Mari across the halls and back into the classroom until she finally cornered her.

“G-Give it back!!”

“Nope!! You _never_ pay attention to me when you are with this book!! What’s so interesting about it anyway-? Wait, wait! Don’t cry!” 

“Mari!!” 

Dia was failing to hold back her tears, but her stubborn attitude still came out on top. With a rapid movement, she pounced against Mari and both fell to the floor. The book was sent up flying into the air and then plopped on top of Mari’s face.

“Ow…” Mari groaned while pushing away Dia and slowly trying to stand up.

She looked at the book in order to pick it up but she was frozen in the spot staring at the image before her. The book was open on a specific page that reflected the image of nine girls. All nine of them were holding a pink gem which released a radiant light that covered all their bodies. In front of them, there was a powerful and menacing beast that was twice their size. Despite this, all nine girls looked full of determination. 

Looking at this image Mari felt like she had found something amazing beyond her dreams.

“Who are those girls?” The tiny blonde girl asked while staring in awe at the image before her.

“Hmph.” Dia picked up the book and hugged it. “They are µ's, the legendary heroes!”

“Uuwah!! Dia, let me borrow that book!!”

“Never!!”

“If you don’t let me, I’m going to tell Kanan on you!”

“D-D-Do it!!”

Both girls stared at each other for a few seconds but then Mari pounced towards Dia, giving her a tickle attack. Dia couldn’t resist laughing and let go of the book, but something made both of them jump up to their feet. 

Dia quickly stood up and ran to hide behind Mari as a small bobbly creature hopped into the classroom. This was Mari’s first encounter with a monster which they ended up defeating with Kanan’s help. 

In the end, Dia ended up visiting her every day after playing around with Kanan so that they could read the book. Kanan never had enough patience to sit and read through it so she wouldn’t join them but she would still listen to their stories about it. Instead of reading, Kanan then started taking them into adventures.

“Where are we going today?” Mari asked.

The three little girls had reunited on a sunny Saturday morning by Dia’s house.

“We are going to go bug catching!!” Kanan declared while full of energy.

“No way!!” Mari refuted. “Bugs are gross!!”

“You don’t get it Mari.” Kanan shook her head in disapproval. “Did you know? I’ve heard that these gross bugs will turn into monsters if you leave them alone for long enough!!”

“WHAT?”

“That’s why we are going bug catching, so we can save the bugs!! And then…!”

“And then we’ll be heroes!” Dia joined in cheerfully. “Just like µ's!!”

“Exactly!” Kanan nodded. 

“GREAT!” I didn’t take much to convince Mari. “We’ll save the bugs and then save everyone!”

“Exactly!!” 

This was the start of The Liberation. A group that was born with the aspiration to be like µ's one day. 

But then, soon after, a catastrophe hit the town port town of Numazu. 

After that night, everything changed.

When Kanan woke up, she was inside a hospital connected to some strange machines. She was never told the details but it looked like they were barely able to save her life back then. 

Then, the next day arrived. Even if school had been cancelled and she had been absent, Kanan finally returned to class. She returned hoping to meet her friends again and go back to those fun days. But there was an empty seat next to her, a seat that would remain empty every day from now on.

“Dia.” Kanan approached the black haired girl after class had ended. 

But she couldn’t get a response. 

Dia simply continued to look down while remaining silent. She continued putting her notebooks back into her bag without even looking up at Kanan no matter how many times she called out to her.

“Dia…?”

“I’m…sorry.” Dia’s faint voice whispered under her breath.

But Kanan was not able to hear it.

“Dia! I’m talking to you!!” 

Kanan slammed her hands against the desk, but Dia simply shook her head and ran away.

The young ponytail girl remained alone in the empty classroom. One of her friends was missing and the other one wouldn’t talk to her anymore. All she could do was to reach a simple conclusion. 

“Is this… my fault?”

And so, Kanan ran out of the school and into the lonely roads of Numazu. She ran across the town with all her might. Even if this was her fault, there was something she wanted to check. Was Mari _okay?_

Her memories were faint, but there were two things clear to her. She was attacked to the point she was close to losing her life. But that night, the moment she had been involved in an incident, Mari was there too. Mari had come along with her in order to support her.

And so Kanan ran until she reached the port area just below the grand hotel. It was late in the afternoon and it was already dark enough for her light signal to go through. Kanan stood at the port while calling out to Mari. She stood there as the darkness of the night consumed the red skies and the setting sun. And she stood there as the sun had slowly begun to rise again. 

There was no response. No one ever came for her. 

The next day came, and nothing changed. Dia would still not talk to her and Mari wouldn’t answer to her signals.

And then, the next day, an announcement that tore apart Kanan’s heart was given by a teacher.

_"I’m sorry to inform you that our classmate Mari Ohara is no longer with us. She has moved away along with her family, but let us keep doing our best in her stead."_

“What…?” Kanan muttered under her breath. “Mari is gone…?”

Just like that? This sudden? Without so much as a simple goodbye? Was she never going to see her again? 

And after that announcement, the entire class fell silent. There was only silence, but it was quickly broken by a crying voice. The voice of a crying young girl with black hair resounded through the classroom, a cry that shredded apart whatever remained of Kanan’s heart. 

At that moment she couldn’t help but wonder. What was the point of “The Liberation” if she couldn’t save anyone in the end? Her dreams crumbled apart before her. She wanted to be useful; all she wanted was to save everyone. All she wanted was to shine like the radiant heroes along with Mari and Dia. At first, it wasn’t something she cared too much about, but it had become something important to her thanks to the connection she had with her friends. She had turned their dream into her own dreams. But she was not able to protect those dreams in the end. She had failed them. She felt like she had taken those dreams and destroyed them with her own hands.

And it wasn’t only Mari. On that day, a lot of the residents had started to leave Numazu while others just relocated to safer nearby zones. One of them was Captain Watanabe who had moved somewhere close to Chika’s house in Uchiura. And that reminded Kanan of something else. Chika and You. Even if they were younger than her, they were both precious and important friends to her. But on that night they had got caught up in the middle of a strange incident and gotten injured. Kanan was never told the details but she was not able to meet with either of them for weeks. She wasn’t able to protect them either. So then, why was she still here? She couldn’t do anything right, so what was she useful for?

She knew it would be no use anymore, but even then, she continued to send out her light signal every night, hoping that it was all just a bad dream, hoping that it would reach someone.

Until one night, it did.

A young girl with black hair walked towards the port while holding hands with a younger girl with pigtails. 

“Dia?!” Kanan jumped up surprised. 

After all this time, Dia still never said a word to her. She was the last person she ever thought would come look for her.

“Kanan…” Dia spoke without raising her sight from the ground. “I’m sorry.”

“Dia…”

“I’m sorry.” She repeated again. “After that night, our father never came back.”

Kanan couldn’t find any words to reply with. She simply stared at Dia speechless as she spoke.

“And our mother… she said not to talk to you anymore. And I was scared… I was scared that if I didn’t obey she would go away too. So that’s why…”

“…”

And on top of that, she couldn’t help but feel that this was all her fault. She couldn’t help but feel like maybe, Dia was doing the right thing by not talking to her. That she deserved to be left alone.

“So that’s why, I’m here to say goodbye.”

“What do you mean?!”

“Mother has decided we are leaving this town.”

“You…you can’t leave me too.”

“I’m sorry...” Dia’s eyes started to tear up and she was unable to stop herself from crying. “I’m sorry Kanan, I’m really sorry!! I don’t want to go!! I want to stay here!! And spend time with you!! I want Mari to come back and everything to be the same again but… that won’t happen anymore. I’m sorry…”

Seeing Dia like this, Kanan’s eyes began to tear up as well, and all the added weight in her heart made her break down. Before she could realize it, she started crying. Her cries resounded across the sea on that cold night. 

She could not even express her feelings in words and simply extended out her arms asking for a hug. Dia shook her head and walked away while waving her hand. The young red haired girl who held Dia’s hand looked confused. She was too young to understand what was going on, but it was clear that she was affected by the heavy atmosphere as tears began rolling down her eyes as well. And as she walked away together with Dia, as she left Kanan behind, she turned around to look at the lonely ponytail girl and waved goodbye.

This is when Kanan had decided to give up on her dreams.

But it wouldn’t be over so easily. After Chika ended up finding Dia’s book, everything came back at once. Seeing Chika filled with so much passion and enthusiasm about it made Kanan want to protect her dream at all costs, but even then, it still hurt. This is why she now liked to act as if she didn’t care much. She couldn’t allow herself to, it would only hurt in the end. 

So be it one way or the other, µ's’s existence had left a big mark in everyone’s hearts.

  


This is why even amongst them all, none could provide an immediate answer to Riko’s question.

“If µ's is really out there…” Riko continued to speak her thoughts out loud. She knew this may be cruel, but letting someone have their hopes up for nothing was even crueler to her. “It’s almost like they have abandoned this world.”

“That’s not true.” Chika refuted immediately in a serious tone. “µ's would never abandon us, or this world.”

“But-”

“Even if the world is destroyed right now. Even if a lot of bad things are happening, we can’t know for sure what µ's is doing right now! Do you know how vast the world is? Maybe they are busy trying to save other places. Maybe they are doing their best right now!! And… even if I have no proof of this… there is only one way we can know for sure.”

“Chika…” 

Riko couldn’t find a way to refute what she said. Even she thought Chika was being too optimistic, Riko acknowledged that on the other hand, she may have been too pessimistic. This is why she reached a new conclusion, one that Chika was about to state in that instant.

“The only way we can know for sure is if we find them. Let’s find µ's and find out the truth. Until we do, I won’t let you say that they abandoned us.”

Finding µ's. Finding a group of characters from a book. Anyone would have thought that was a ridiculous statement. Anyone would have thought that there was no point to that in a world like this, but even then, if only for a moment, Chika’s words were bright and full of hope. 

“In that case.” Mari finally spoke up. Her voice had an unusual serious tone. “Let’s do just that. Let’s go to Tokyo.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end of "The Liberation" arc. There wasn't any kind of closing battle scene in this part, but I felt that covering this was a really important thing to let the girls come together and to set up the base for what will come next in the story. This chapter had a heavy focus on the third years, and mostly on Mari and Kanan, but don't worry, I know all the girls deserve proper focus so I will do just that as we move onward with the story. 
> 
> I had Kanan interacting normally with Mari and Dia to show that despite everything, a close bond with someone isn't so easily broken. On the other hand, it's not so easy to heal a broken heart either so this isn't the end to this development.


	18. Prelude of Darkness - Part 1

_The somber wind howled as if announcing an omen.  
A curtain of flames closed down on the heart that wanted to disappear. _

☆

“Let’s go to Tokyo.”

Mari Ohara, the leader of The Liberation, let out a strong statement. 

Everyone remained silent. 

Going to Tokyo. 

This had more weight for some of them than others. People like You and Kanan didn’t have a strong connection or knowledge about the place. If that’s where the group was going, that’s where they would go, that was all there was to it. 

For someone like Hanamaru, it was her duty to follow the leader. The moment she joined The Liberation she was prepared to face any dangers no matter what. For someone like Yohane, everything was still uncertain.

On the other hand for people like Chika, Dia and Ruby, Tokyo was the place where it all began. It was the place where µ's came together. It was the place that gave birth to the legends and the place that shined the most brightly with their radiance. But even then, Chika had very little knowledge of the world outside her small village. She had only been able to see part of the world thanks to her book and it was clear that nothing was the same anymore. If the lively world had shown her such desolate scenery so far, how was Tokyo like right now?

“Tokyo…?”

A faint voice escaped Riko’s lips as she clenched her fist against her chest. The mention of that place made her heart stop beating for a moment. She was filled with doubt and anxiety, she couldn’t bring herself to say anything more or state what she really thought. But this is when a bright voice pulled her back to reality. It felt like being pulled out of the sea after drowning deep inside a dark abyss.

“That sounds perfect!” Chika nodded. In the end, she decided to go with the way that was the easiest for her, to go with the flow and let her heart guide her. “Let’s go to Tokyo!!”

“Let’s depart immediately!!” Mari stood up cheerfully as Chika’s positivism spread to her.

“Yeah, let’s go!!” 

The orange haired girl started walking forward alongside Mari. Both marched on proudly towards their objective.

“Where do you think you are going?” Dia spoke slow and irritated as she grabbed both girls tightly by their shoulders. “It’s the middle of the night!!”

“So?” Chika and Mari synced up to reply at the same time.

“We are not going anywhere right now.” Dia sighed and then crossed her arms. “Besides, “LET’S GO to Tokyo!” you say, but how are supposed to make it there in the first place? You know it is one of the most dangerous places right now.”

“Hm.” 

Mari brought a hand to her chin. She stared at Dia and then at all the other girls, lost in thought.

“We have Kanan now, so it should be NO PROBLEM!” 

“It is a problem!!” Dia refuted immediately. “We could not even make it close last time and barely managed to retreat in one piece. No matter how many of us there is, going to Tokyo is a suicidal move.” 

“Eh? You’ve tried going there before and failed?” You was starting to feel uneasy about going through with this plan. 

“We… kind of did.” Dia explained. “Tokyo is the place where µ's came from and where they all came together. We thought going there would give us some clues but it was too dangerous even for us.” 

“ _Wait._ It is true that we couldn’t make it but if it was truly impossible to travel all the way there then…” Mari realized something. Hey eyes locked on the girl with long wine red hair. “How did the princess make it here?”

Riko rapidly averted her gaze and looked away from Mari. She fidgeted with her fingers and she could feel her nervousness increasing once again. The thought of going to Tokyo was already enough to make her very uncomfortable, but right now she could feel that she was about to be given more pressure. She felt like she was being given expectations she may not be able to live up to. After all…

“That is true.” Dia agreed with Mari. She then moved her gaze towards Riko as well and asked: “Do you know of a safe way to get there?” 

“Please tell us if you do.” Mari requested in a serious tone. “I would appreciate your help a lot. You may be the key to letting us find the truth.”

Ah, there it was. Just as she expected. Responsibility and expectation was starting to pile up again. Riko remained silent for a moment. What should she say? This wasn’t an easy choice at all. In fact, if she could choose, she would decline their request and be entirely against going there. But she couldn’t just say that out loud. Not when everyone’s gazes were locked on her. Not when the fragile hopes of someone close were at stake. So then what? Should she just smile and cheerfully tell them that she will guide them? Would she be able to guide them in the first place? 

Riko clenched her fist tightly. It felt as though the scenery around her was spinning. It felt as though her body was as light as a feather and would be carried away by the wind.

“I’m sorry.” She finally spoke up.

(What am I saying?) 

Even as she spoke, everything felt unreal. For a moment, everything felt blurry, like looking at images in a dream. She felt as if the environment around her and everyone else was unreal. She felt as though she couldn’t recognize her own voice as she spoke without thought. Words had left her lips before she could even realize it. I’m sorry? What is that supposed to mean? She was still not prepared to give them an answer. After all… after all she…

“How about we pause this conversation for now?” 

The one who spoke was You Watanabe. Riko stared in shock at the gray haired girl as she stood up and stepped in front of her. It was almost as though she was covering for her on purpose. But why? She thought You was the one that was always the most curious to know more about her. Back at the forest, it was You who had put some pressure on her but she could not give her an explanation in the end. 

“I’m sure Riko is tired from traveling all the way here and so are most of us. Let’s call it a night for now and decide what we want to do tomorrow.”

“Now that you mention it…” Chika suddenly plopped down on the floor. “I can’t feel my legs.”

“Right?” You smiled at her. 

“We did spend all day walking to make it here.” Dia pointed out to Mari.

Hearing this, it was like everything finally cooled down. Everyone seemed to have forgotten how tired they were after finding Mari and getting caught up by this mood, but it was finally starting to get to them. In the end, the conversation halted down successfully and everyone agreed it was better to get some rest for now.

They had used Hanamaru’s magic in order to set up the tent. Leaves had come together to form a solid structure, and as a result, from the outside it looked more like a very small cottage than a tent. After they walked inside, the place was wide enough for all nine of them and eight thin mattresses were spread across the floor. 

“Wait.” Kanan crossed her arms. “We are missing one now, aren’t we?”

“Hm?” Mari tilted her head still not realizing there wasn’t a place prepared for her to sleep. 

“It is okay.” 

Dia walked forward and pushed two mattresses together against each other. In the end Mari ended up tucked in between Dia and Kanan. She felt warm, comfortable and happy. Before she could even question why Dia didn’t use alchemy to make an extra one, she ended up falling asleep. 

“…………………” 

As most of the girls had already fallen asleep, Yohane remained on top of the bed with her eyes wide open. 

There had been a lot going on but right now there was absolute silence. It was the moment everything had finally cooled down enough to give her time to think about her situation and the first thought that hit her was: (What am I doing?)

Up until now she had tagged along. It was true that she previously knew Hanamaru, but aside from that, everyone was pretty much a stranger. Not only that but, someone who was extremely dangerous to her like Dia had tagged along. And now they were talking about going to Tokyo? They were insane. The danger she had faced back in the forest had already taken a toll on her, was it okay to tag along with this group after all? It was true that she didn’t have anywhere else to go but… 

(Maybe I should go.)

She couldn’t help but think that this was her best chance to escape. She could silently leave while everyone was sleeping, find somewhere to go, and wash her hands off all this business. The blue haired bun girl rapidly sat up. Everything was pitch black and silent. She couldn’t help but think of scenarios of things going wrong like her stepping on someone by accident. Or even worse, being found out by Dia. 

Even then, part of her kept pushing her, telling her to escape, but another part of her was still hesitant. Was leaving the right thing to do? Or… could this finally be somewhere she could belong to?

Still full of doubt she finally decided to stand up but, she was pushed back down into the mattress. Her body completely froze up as she felt something suddenly embracing her.

“Coelacanth… you are so cute…” Ruby grumbled in her sleep. 

She had rolled out of her own mattress and made it all the way to Yohane’s. The blue haired bun girl sighed and closed her eyes, there was absolutely no way escaping was an option anymore like this. 

And so, the next day arrived. 

It looked like the Kurosawa sisters had woken up early and gone fishing as there was food ready waiting for everyone. Just as usual, Yohane sat to eat with everyone. 

“Just… as usual?”

“What is it, zura?”

“Hmph, nothing a simple mortal could understand.”

When did this become the usual? Yohane couldn’t help but wonder once again if it was okay to stay here like this. She let them all discuss about going to Tokyo while being more focused on her own thoughts. She didn’t understand the details and she didn’t know why it was so important for them to go there in the first place. In fact seeing others affected so heavily by this threw her off even more. She couldn’t help but feel extremely out of place. 

By the looks of it, it seemed like they didn’t back down about going there after all. 

“Overthinking things such as the best plan to get there won’t get us anywhere.” Mari finally came to a conclusion. “We have a higher number of people so it might not turn out like last time. We have no choice but to try.” 

“So it came down to this after all huh.” Kanan stared at her with an expression that said “I knew it.”

They had tried to pressure Riko some more but in the end it seemed like she didn’t have any recollection of how she got to Uchiura in the first place. Pressuring this matter more than that wouldn’t take them anywhere.

“OF COURSE!” Mari stood up. This time she was ready to depart for good. “Tokyo is still quite far so this might turn out to be a long journey. Are you READY?”

“Let’s go!!” Chika joined her cheerfully. 

“Very well then.” Dia placed her hands on her hips. “If anything happens I will do my best to protect everyone.” 

“R-Ruby will do her Rubesty too!!”

“Tokyo, huh? I wonder what kind of place it is, zura!”

Seeing how no one was against such a reckless plan, Riko had no choice but to nod and follow them. Separating from the group was out of the question. 

“And besides.” Mari whispered under her breath with such a faint voice that no one else could hear. “There is someone waiting for us there.” 

The tent that was held together thanks to Hanamaru’s magic dissipated and the leaves were carried away by the wind. With Mari leading the way at the front, the girls took the first step that would mark the start of their long journey.

☆

The day had passed by almost the same way the last one did.

Walking. Lots and lots of walking. Yohane found herself barely able to make her trembling legs give another step as she followed behind the group of girls. The sun had already started to set once again but this time they didn’t stop to camp for the night.

“I know I said we should get there immediately but…” Chika spoke completely out of breath. “Can we take a break?”

“ _No._ ” Mari replied. “We should be reaching a city soon. I would prefer to do a stop there instead so we can rest better and prepare ourselves.”

“A city?” Chika asked full of hope. “Are we almost there?! Are we almost at Tokyo?!”

“Of course not!!” Dia yelled at her. “The way things are now it’s going to take us much longer to get there.”

“…Zura….” 

Hanamaru’s voice spoke in the distance, followed by a loud thud.

“?” 

Yohane stopped walking for a moment after she heard an impact close by. Once she turned around to see, she noticed it was Hanamaru who had fallen to the ground completely out of breath. 

“Zuramaru?”

“Leave me behind and save yourselves… zura…”

“Even for a fallen angel abandoning you would be a shameful act. Pull yourself together and come with us.”

“Maru?” Ruby stepped to the back of the group where Hanamaru and Yohane were. “Are you okay?”

Hanamaru didn’t have enough strength to respond at all. She couldn’t feel her legs anymore and she was short of breath. Ruby frowned the moment she saw this, she knew her friend wasn’t in a good state at all, and that moved her past the panicking stage and into one to take action. 

“Help me.”

The red haired pigtail girl glanced at Yohane with a serious expression. She then started to help Hanamaru stand up. Yohane promptly reacted and lifted up Hanamaru from the other side. Even if her legs were shaky she was able to use Ruby and Yohane as support, so the brunette did not fall down again. 

Most of the group was already ahead, everyone was exhausted and didn’t realize what happened. With no choice but to move onward, they continued to help Hanamaru until they finally reached an old city. 

It was easy to tell they had reached their first destination because buildings stood in what seemed to be the middle of nowhere. The buildings seemed to be old and somewhat damaged. However, compared to the desolate land, this place seemed to be in a much better state. In fact there were some trees growing to the sides of the sidewalks along with a few flowers. It seemed that life wasn’t completely dead in the city. 

Just like that, it looked like there was also surviving human life in this place. They could tell thanks to most of the buildings starting to turn on their lights after the darkness of the night surrounded them. Being in a place like this may have been something simple but it felt very comforting. 

“This place looks a lot more lively.” Riko pointed out. “Where are we exactly?”

“We are in Susono.” Mari explained. “It seems like a few cities around this area have managed to maintain themselves despite everything. The one where we were active before was like this too.”

Chika was lost in thought. Everything was so confusing to her right now. Being in this city reminded her of Uchiura to an extent, a peaceful city in the middle of a desolated world. But something didn’t feel right. If life had died so far and wide at such a fast extent, why were there still signs of it like the trees and flowers here? She had trouble measuring how bad things actually were. Something she could only question while walking across the streets of this place. 

After finally making it to the city, Mari guided them towards a tall building close by. They had to cross the street to get there but there weren’t any vehicles running. There was a sign just outside the building, signaling that this place a hotel. However as they approached the entrance everything felt eerily silent. 

They approached an old wooden door that would lead them inside the hotel. 

“ _Excuse me._ ” Mari spoke as she stepped forward and knocked on the door.

But the moment her fist hit against the door, it fell back and crashed against the floor with a loud noise.

“Oops.”

Despite this, there was no one inside the hotel to react or complain about their door being broken like this. 

“Hm.” Dia kneeled down and picked up the door, reattaching it with her alchemy. “This seems to be really old. I think even the wind could have make it fall like this.”

“But still.” You looked around cautiously as she stepped inside. “This place seems deserted. Are you sure we should be here?”

“If it’s deserted we are not bothering anyone right?” Chika pondered out loud.

“Well that’s true but…”

“If it’s not deserted let’s apologize later.” Yohane suddenly spoke up. “We really need to find a place to rest.”

While it’s true that she was extremely tired, she was concerned about Hanamaru more than anything. The brunette didn’t seem to be doing okay at all. Simply by looking at her expression everyone was quick to catch up and promptly agreed.

Dia and Mari took a quick detour to inspect every last part of this building while the other girls left for the guest rooms. No matter how much they searched, the place seemed to be completely empty. 

Yohane sat down on her bed, finally all alone inside an old room. She sighed and looked at the scenery outside the window. The cold wind of autumn blew leaves all around the air as grey rain clouds shrouded the sky. In the distance, the large peak of Mt. Fuji rose up into the heavens. After falling back into the cold bed, a question entered Yohane’s head again.

(Just what am I doing?)

Not knowing what path to take from now on, her tiredness caught up with her and she ended up falling asleep before she could realize it. 

 

_There was blazing fire._

_There were loud screams of terror._

_It was all silenced in an instant by a flash of golden light._

_And then, there was nothing._

_And then, there was no one._

 

Yohane jumped up from her bed startled. There was cold sweat rolling down her forehead mixed with a strong headache. It didn’t take her long to realize she was just dreaming. She felt relief the moment she realized she was okay while inside a small and cozy room. Looking out the window she could see the sun was already starting to go up as the sky was covered with a light blue color mixed with a faint red shade. 

It was really early, early enough to go back to sleep. Given the silence in the hotel, it was likely that all the other girls were still sleeping. That meant that right now she had a lot of freedom. If that was the case, this was her best chance to escape. She could leave, but a somber thought crossed her mind. A thought that made her uneasy and that she had been trying to push back for a while now. Right now that everyone was alone and vulnerable, she could get rid of _someone._

No. No no no no no no. She shook her head trying to push those thoughts away. She slapped her cheeks and stood up. Letting those thoughts take over was no good. Going down that path as well would be no good at all. This is exactly why she knew she couldn’t stay here for much longer. This is exactly why it was better if she just left and disappeared without a trace. 

Making sure she wasn’t making much noise, Yohane opened the door of her room. Just as she thought, the halls of the hotel were all really silent. She slowly walked while holding her breath. And then, she reached the entrance. All she had to do was to go beyond that door and leave. Once she did that, her role here would be over. Once she did that, she wouldn’t have to fight against those impulses anymore. This was for the best, but it also pained her greatly. She couldn’t even tell why, but there was a part of her that insisted she really belonged here after all. 

Letting out a heavy sigh, Yohane opened the door and walked outside into the cold streets.

It should have been over like this but…

“W-W-Where are we going?!”

“Like! I! Told! You!! We are taking security measures!!”

The voices of two girls arguing reached her. They were standing outside not too far away from her.

The black haired girl kept trying to drag Chika away while holding a tight grasp on her wrist. On the other hand the orange haired girl looked sleepy and irritated. 

“I thought I already told you we don’t need them!!”

“Hmph! Stop being stubborn, this is for your own good. You should be grateful, I, Dia Kurosawa is willing to help you!!”

“Ahhhh!! You are such a pain, it’s freezing out here and I want to go back to sleep!!!”

“If µ's had thought about sleeping so much then they wouldn’t have been able to achieve anything!!”

“T-That’s true…. But…”

“Then let us go, Chika. We should hurry and make it back before everyone else wakes up.”

“…”

“Chika?”

“I want to sleep!!”

Yohane slowly stepped back as she looked at both girls arguing. One of them was the last person she wanted to see right now. She still wanted to escape but she didn’t want them to notice her at all. Should she go back into the hotel? Or maybe she should just hide. Her brain got overloaded for a second but the moment she stepped back, her back hit against the wooden door that crashed into the floor with a loud noise.

“…”

Yohane remained completely frozen as the two girls slowly turned their heads and stared at her. 

“Ah, it’s Yoshiko!” Chika waved at her and approached her.

“I-It’s Yohane!!”

“Perfect timing.” Dia grinned. Her gaze was locked into Yohane’s eyes as she grasped her wrist. “You will be coming with us.”

“Eh?!”

“Wait! I thought I told you I wanted to sleep!!” Chika complained but it was too late. 

“I will not be accepting any complaints, let us go at once.”

“Eeeh?!”

Yohane couldn’t help but yell as she was dragged away as well by Dia. This wasn’t good. This wasn’t good at all. The simple feeling of Dia’s touch against her wrist was causing her to feel strange. It almost felt like there was something burning against her skin. Yohane felt as though she stopped completely breathing for a moment. Those thoughts she had been trying to keep away. Those memories she had been trying to repress. They were all flooding back in. At this rate… she might not be able to stop herself anymore. 

Without being aware of the events that were about to unfold, Dia walked forward with a smile on her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again I would like to thank everyone for your support! I really appreciate all your kudos and comments.  
> Although... I realized simply saying I appreciate your comments might be a bit generic, specially because they do mean a lot to me. 
> 
> So I thought I could do something new for a change, an honorable mention of sorts to the people that always comment the most. I may be doing this from time to time so look forward to it!
> 
> That being said, here we go! 
> 
> Special ☆ Thanks to:  
> nana_thyme  
> Mariyannu  
> Luna  
> Chiba Yoshi  
> Aethuran_KR  
> lunaticbirb  
> TheNightstriker  
> HakunaMooka
> 
> Your support is really appreciated!
> 
> This goes to everyone who is taking their time to read this as well: I'll do my best to keep working on this story and make it a fun adventure for you! ☆


	19. Prelude of Darkness - Part 2

“So?” Yohane asked with an annoyed tone. “Where are we exactly?”

“We are by the waterfalls!” Dia answered proudly.

After being dragged around the town along with Chika, they had reached a short road where there weren’t any buildings anymore. As they continued to get closer, the sound of falling water enveloped them. Soon a large waterfall that fell into a small stream in the middle of a dry field had come in sight. 

“I can see that!!” Yohane crossed her arms. “Forget it. Why are we here in the first place?”

Chika was sitting on top of a large rock just by the waterfall, she let out a yawn while almost half asleep and then her eyes opened wide in shock after realizing something. 

“Wait!! D-Don’t tell me…”

“What is wrong, Chika?”

“Don’t tell me you brought us here to train by meditating under the cold waterfalls!!” 

“Hmm…” Dia brought a hand to her chin. “Now that you say it, it does not sound like a bad idea. We should do that as well.”

“Ehhhh?!”

“T-That would be terrible even for a fallen angel like me.” Yohane whispered under her own breath.

“L-Let’s just go ahead with the original plan first.” Chika suggested, trying her best to move Dia’s train of thought somewhere else. “We have to come back early before everyone wakes up, right?”

“Certainly.” Dia was fast to agree. “In that case, let us start with…”

Dia brought a hand to her pocket and pulled out a tiny translucent stone. She gave a few steps back and hurled the gem towards Chika with incredible force.

“Wha-?!?!” 

Chika jumped up startled and extended out her arm as golden light sparked out of the gem. Chika’s hand came into contact with Dia’s weapon as it began to transform into a spear. With a strange noise, the transformation was cancelled out and the gem remained in Chika’s hand. 

“Just as I thought.” 

Dia stared at the orange haired girl. She had been snapped awake in an instant thanks to the sudden attack, but there was something she hadn’t realized yet. Just as Dia’s sudden attack was stopped, a strange black aura had enveloped the palm of Chika’s hands. 

Yohane stared confused at the scene. The aura in Chika’s hands didn’t take long to vanish. In fact, it had only lasted for a few seconds. But those few seconds were enough to awaken a strange feeling inside Yohane. 

“What is… this?” She whispered under her breath.

She couldn’t understand what she was feeling at all. Something inside her felt hot, it was almost like something was boiling deep inside her. Like something was calling out to her.

“See?!” Dia spoke at Chika with a proud look in her face. “I was right! You _are_ still dangerous.”

“That’s…” Chika had no way to refute Dia’s statement at all. “You are right.”

“This is why we need to take safety measures. If we are not careful this will just backfire on us later.”

“So?” Chika tilted her head. “What’s your plan?”

“Actually…” Dia trailed off and then looked at Yohane. “There is something else I wanted to test.”

“Huh?” 

Yohane replied without thinking. She wasn’t paying much attention to the conversation but replied by instinct once she realized that Dia was speaking to her. 

“So far I have only seen Chika’s strange power activate in response to my alchemy.” Dia explained. “In order for us to achieve better results I need to see how it reacts to magic with my own eyes, and that is when you come in!”

“Very well.” Yohane tried to go with the flow and push aside the strange thoughts in her head for now. “I shall show you a true display of my power.”

“Why do I feel like I’ve suddenly become a punching bag…” Chika sighed dejected. 

She took a deep breath and extended out her arm in front of her. She had never seen Yohane’s power up front, so she had no idea what to expect. However, this wasn’t the first time she had managed to dispel magic with a touch. Whatever came her way, all she had to do was to touch it. 

“Grand oblivion blades in the skies, hear my cry, bestow upon me the corrupted advent of your broken soul and allow me to destroy my foe!” 

As Yohane spoke her spell out loud, a magic circle appeared at her feet. She was slowly surrounded with a faint glow that gathered in the palm of her hand, the glow becoming brighter and brighter with every second. 

Chika stared intently at Yohane. She couldn’t help but feel nervous about taking on this attack. 

While striking a pose, Yohane snapped her fingers and pointed at Chika, the instant she did, a massive cannon of blinding light in the shape of a holy winged sword shot with full force into Chika’s direction. The orange haired girl gritted her teeth. The moment of impact, the noise of space being shattered resounded. The light dissipated into the air, but Chika didn’t escape such an attack unscathed. Despite being able to dispel the magic, she was blown back thanks to the sheer impact and sent flying all the way under the cold falling water.

“Um…” Yohane stared blankly at the spot where Chika was just standing. 

The force of the impact was so grand even Yohane had been pushed back. On the other hand, Dia simply stared at her completely speechless. 

“…” 

Yohane then moved her head to stare at Dia who continued to stare intently at her. She couldn’t help but jump back once she saw Dia’s eyes light up. 

“T-That was…” Dia spoke in a low tone that rapidly grew to a very loud voice. “That was wonderful! Yoshiko!!”

“I-It’s Yohane!!”

“As expected from a foreign magician! I am impressed! You even mastered the art of spell chanting!! No wonder you were able to muster such a powerful attack!!”

“Spell chanting…?” 

Chika spoke completely out of energy. She had walked back from under the waterfall, but she was now completely soaked. On top of that the cold of this autumn morning wasn’t helping, making her entire body shake while freezing. 

“Hmph! I am disappointed Chika!!”

“Eh?!”

“I thought a fellow µ's fan would know everything about spell chanting!!”

“Well… All those details on magic were always too complex for me…”

Dia shook her head annoyed and then glared at Chika.

“Listen! Spell chanting is a really advanced technique to use magic!! Magicians usually tap into their own Legendary Power in order to bring out extraordinary powers that align with their own personal element, such as wind and water, correct?”

“Uh-huh…?”

“But simply shooting out magic is a very unrefined technique! You are simply shooting out your energy without having a good control of it! Of course, as an alchemist, it is not really my field, but there were two members in µ's that were excellent at spell chanting!”

“Nozomi and… Nico?”

“Of course!” Dia smiled. Her eyes lighted up even more now that she was able to speak about this topic. “They were extremely skilled at it! Spell chanting is the art to use words in order to coordinate the output of magic, if used correctly it can be amplified a hundred times and turned into a lethal weapon beyond imagination!! And this girl here! She can do it perfectly!!”

“I…I can…?” Yohane pointed at herself confused. “Cough, I mean, of course I can!! It is a special art that took me centuries to master!”

“Centuries?” Chika asked but her question went completely ignored.

“Ahem, anyway!” Dia tried to compose herself and then directed her attention at Chika once again. “It appears it is just as I thought.”

Chika then stared at her hands. The dark aura flowing out of them was way larger than before and it was nowhere close to fading away. 

“The more powerful the attack you dispel is, the more powerful that strange energy becomes, and the more it lasts as well.” Dia explained. “That being said, this only proves my theory true so it should not be a problem.”

“So… what now? Just get to the point already!!” 

Chika was already grumpy due to lack of sleep, and freezing up like this in the middle of the morning wasn’t helping her feel any better. 

“I plan to use my alchemy to create a shield.” Dia finally gave her a clearer answer.

“A shield?”

“Yes. You can think of it like that. We need something that can keep that aura in check. It does not spread to your own body either, so I am sure we can discard that possibility.” 

As they spoke, Yohane’s eyes were locked into Chika’s hands once again. 

( _What is this feeling?_ ) 

The boiling feeling inside her was even hotter than before. She felt as though her eyes had started to boil as well. She felt as though something was calling for her, pushing her to move closer, pushing her to do something. 

“Yoshi…ko?” Chika asked confused.

Before she came back to her senses, Yohane realized her body had moved on its own. She was now standing just next to Chika. Her fingers were about to reach for Chika’s hand, she was about to reach for that strange aura that called out to her.

“Wait wait!” Dia rapidly pulled Yohane away. “You may not realize it but touching that is dangerous, even for a skilled magician I would advise against it.”

“I… I know that!!” Yoshiko stepped away and crossed her arms. “And it’s Yohane!!” 

She pretended to have everything under control. But it really wasn’t. Her heart was racing hard and a new feeling enveloped her body. Frustration. But why? She couldn’t understand at all but it felt like this feeling was rapidly consuming her. 

“Anyway.” Dia then walked closer to the stream that connected the way to the waterfall. “That being said I need to gather some new materials, this is why I brought you here.”

After stating this, Dia placed her hand on top of the water. She gently waved her fingers across the surface but that was enough for her alchemy to activate. With a spark of light the water became completely frozen solid. The frozen water spread all the way to the waterfall, stopping the flowing water in the middle of the air as it crystalized in a second. The sight felt almost unreal for Chika and Yohane. 

“Now then, let’s go.” 

Dia stepped on top of the ice. She had no trouble keeping up her balance, and the surface was hard enough to support her weight. After that, she continued to walk forward towards the place where the waterfall was.

“D-Dia?” Chika spoke with a trembling voice thanks to the cold. “C-Can’t you use your alchemy to give me something warm at least?”

“Oh, right!”

Dia then pulled a small gem out of her pocket. She crushed the gem between her hands and handed Chika the item she had just created. It was a pair of mittens. 

“There you go!”

“Y…You can’t be serious…” 

Chika put on the mittens and then placed her hands against her face to try and heat up her cold skin.

“It can’t be helped.” Dia shrugged. “I can’t use too much energy just like that, we still don’t know what we could run into and I need to take care of the shield as well.”

“Not fair…” Chika followed while still complaining. 

As both girls walked towards the waterfall, Yohane followed shortly behind Chika’s back. Strange thoughts were still clouding her head. Why was she following them just like that? Where were they going? Was it okay for her to just follow them? And more importantly… she continued to stare at Chika’s hands. What was that aura? Right now, it had already dissipated. In fact she could not even see her hands directly anymore thanks to the mittens she was wearing. But the feeling of being so close to touch that aura still made her heart race. There was something inside her, something asking her to reach for it, something pushing her to make contact with that aura no matter what.

And then, they finally reached the front of the waterfall.

Rather than finding a secret entrance just behind the waterfall, Dia decided to open one. Releasing another flash of light with her alchemy, the waterfall opened up and revealed a newly created entrance.

They moved inside and entered a damp cave-like area. The temperature here was just as cold as it was in the outside and everything was a lot darker with only a few rays of light faintly illuminating the path onwards. 

As she entered this place, Yohane couldn’t help but feel a cozy sensation, it was almost like being at home. The darkness was calming. But that was rapidly swept away as Dia now held a large lamp in her hands, illuminating the area completely.

Now that they had a clearer view of the place, they could tell the place was a lot smaller than it seemed. There was nothing but frozen rocks to the side. Likely, they had been affected by Dia’s alchemy when she froze the waterfall.

Aside from that, there was a small path that went forward which they continued to walk across. 

Following this path gave off the feeling of moving deeper to find some secret, undiscovered ruin. But what they found was nothing like that. In fact the path was not even that deep by itself. It didn’t take long for them to reach a dead end. Once the path ended the cave extended into a slightly larger hollow area with a tall wall blocking their way forward.

“This is it!!” Dia declared full of enthusiasm.

“H-Huh?!” 

Chika stared at her confused, her body was still trembling because of the cold and she was rubbing her hands against her arms to try and keep herself warm.

“Yup, this will do!” Dia nodded. “I can get all the materials I need from here!!” 

After taking a closer look, Chika could tell what Dia was talking about. Despite this being a dead end, there were tiny, shiny gems stuck on the rocky wall. They were tiny enough for her to miss them at first glance and it didn’t help that most of them were translucent. Looking at them properly they looked very similar to the ones Dia used to attack with needles. 

“This is disappointing…” Chika complained out loud as Dia gathered as many of the gems as she could. 

“Disappointing?”

“It is!!” Chika raised her voice. It seems like getting worked up was helping her body heat up much faster. “This is just boring!! Aren’t caves like these usually full of mysteries?! What about all the traps and puzzles?! And where is the boss that blocks your way to obtain the reward?! This is just cheating!!!”

“W-What?!” Dia replied by raising her voice as well. “You cannot call this cheating at all!! You should be glad that we did not run into danger! Hmph!!”

“Huh? Are you actually scared about running into something dangerous?” Chika shook her head and then wrapped her arm around Yohane, pulling her closer. “Yoshiko here is an expert at magic isn’t she?! We have nothing to fear!!”

“W-Wha-?” 

Yohane was too startled by Chika’s sudden action to be able to retort as usual to being called by a name she didn’t like. 

“Well… that is true.” Dia agreed. “I cannot deny her abilities at magic are on a much higher level.”

“T-T-That’s right!!” Yohane finally spoke up. “With me here, there is nothing to fear!” 

“See?!” Chika glared at Dia and then tried to imitate Yohane’s deep tone of voice. “With her legendary power we might even be able to obtain a Love Gem.”

“A Love Gem…” 

Dia felt tempted by the idea. It wasn’t difficult for her to get carried away. A lot of possibilities rapidly ran through her head. She could very well try to open another path and look further for danger in order to get a big reward but at the same time she remembered how everyone would be waiting for her. 

“Anyway!” Dia sighed. “We still need to reunite with everyone so let’s hurry and finish our business here.”

“Awww.” 

“What are these gems anyway?” 

Yohane asked curiously before they finally decided to leave. She leaned in closer to the wall, looking closely at one of the translucent stones. 

“Oh, this is mythril. It is a very rare material but it has a lot of uses. I was already running low on resources, so I needed to restock if I want to get anything done. It is not a material I can just create so easily using alchemy after all.”

“So you are going to create the shield using that?” 

Chika tilted her head confused. Magic was already a very complex thing to her, so she had no real understanding of alchemy at all. 

“I will.” Dia nodded. “Mythril is usually good for conducting energy, but if I reverse the properties it might be able to contain it instead.” 

After gathering the gems, Dia turned around deciding it was time to go back before everyone woke up. She wanted to get this done as soon as possible so she could start with the preparations for traveling to Tokyo. 

After this, she began to walk outside by following the same path that they followed to reach this place. It didn’t take long for her to make it outside where the sun shone a lot more brightly. 

“Alright Chika! Let us get this done! Are you ready?”

But there was no response.

“Chika?”

Dia turned around but there was no one there. Neither the orange haired girl nor the blue haired bun girl were anywhere to be seen. 

And then, without any warning, the earth began to tremble. Dia felt the force of the ground shaking violently for a few seconds. The force was enough to break apart some of the ice from the frozen waterfall and strong enough to make boulders fall down from above, completely sealing apart the exit.

“What just-?!” 

Dia stood on top of solid ground startled. She could feel an unnatural cold breeze run by the field as the earth ceased its movement. Looking at up at the sky, the clouds had a weird, broken down pattern. Whatever caused this quake, it was clear that it wasn’t something natural at all. It only took a second for Dia to stop pondering about the quake and realize something else.

“Chika!”

The black haired girl ran towards the waterfall, not caring if the now unfrozen water would wet her legs on this ice cold morning. She reached out for the rocks that were blocking the entrance in order to open up a path again but she was not able to reach it. The rocks were all blown apart into pieces by a powerful impact coming from the other side. After standing just behind them, Dia was caught up by this impact as well and was blown away until her body crashed against some of the water that still remained frozen. 

A cloud of smoke had risen up in the spot where the rocks were blown away. Dia slowly started to stand up while keeping her eyes on that spot, but nothing could have prepared her for the disturbing sight that was waiting for her there.

 

Sometimes there are many things we cannot normally see. 

Sometimes there are many things we cannot understand.

Sometimes all it takes is to flip around the perspective of things. 

And so, let us rewind a little and flip around our view.

 

 _She_ walked forward while a black haired girl held her wrist. The very touch of that girl was making her skin burn. She could only stare at herself completely silent, completely hesitant of what to do as she was dragged into this situation. No matter how much she begged her to let go, no matter how much she cried for help, her voice wouldn’t reach anyone. 

But then, she saw a glimpse of it, malice just like her own. Malice that felt familiar, malice that felt warm, safe, comforting and nostalgic. She was unwillingly fueled by such presence. A scent she didn’t want to let go of. A scent that lured her in, that offered her a way to escape, that offered her an option to be heard. 

And so, she slowly reached for it. She slowly moved closer and closer, until her fingertips were close enough to touch the source where it had all come from. For just a moment, she finally had control.

“You may not realize it but touching that is dangerous.”

The moment this voice reached her, all control was slapped away from her hands. She was pushed away further and further back from that scent that called out to her.

But then, not too long after, something else called out to her. Despite always being comforted by such absolute darkness, her fingers reached for a small stone. Mythril. Why was this so interesting? Why was this so fascinating?

Time stopped. She was enveloped by absolute silence. The disturbing presence, the one she hated so much, it was finally leaving. It all happened purely on instinct. It all happened after her _other-self_ forgot to deny her. It gave her control. It gave her enough control to try and escape.

“Please.” Yoshiko spoke. 

The girl with orange hair stopped moving. She turned around to look at the source of that light and yet somber voice that spoke to her. The image of that girl reflected in her clear pink eyes as her lips moved. Words that she could only hear reached her, and then, Chika felt the gentle tap of something against her hand.

And then, everything was enveloped by darkness.

There were all kinds of people in this world, all kind of events surrounding everyone’s past, all kinds of possibilities surrounding everyone’s futures. No matter what kind of life everyone led, they couldn’t change what already happened. Experiences were something dear to people. Connections were something sacred to people. Memories were a treasure to people. It all contributes to building up something no one could take away: identity. 

But what if all that was taken away from you? Or maybe… what if that is what _she_ wanted to believe?

What if she never had any of that in the first place? 

Then… what did she have?

All but one thing. All but a faint imagine that brought nothing but rage, all but the image of everything being taken away from her. 

The concept of a fallen angel was something so simple and yet…something so cursed. 

When thinking of an angel, there are many kinds of interpretations and concepts. But there is one thing anyone would easily point out. Large wings of pure white color as snow and a holy ring above their head. So it was just a matter of flipping the perspective. It was something simple. What if the holy ring didn’t float above their heads, but instead, connected to the head in a vertical way. What if that ring simply broke off once an angel “falls.” In that case, that broken ring may gain the shape of what some might see as horns. And then, when angel falls, where do they fall? _Why_ do they fall?

At that moment, a glint of light appeared before her. A light she thought she could follow to escape. A light that was there just to deceive her, to crush her heart into a million pieces. But… did _she_ even have a heart to begin with? 

And so, million voices flooded her head. Million voices spoke at the same time pleading for help, crying, laughing, yelling and drowning her voice. No matter how much she tried to escape she was pushed farther and farther away, she was consumed more and more.

Yoshiko who just wanted to live a peaceful life. Yoshiko who just wanted to make her mother proud. Yoshiko who just wanted to have friends. Yoshiko who just wanted to escape loneliness. Yoshiko who just wanted to smile. Yoshiko who just wanted to be happy. Yoshiko who… She who just… 

**She who was completely consumed.**

And then, there she stood.

Yohane.

Her figure stood atop the current of water despite being shrouded by burning black fire. A black aura burst out from her body and spread into the skies like tearing apart a hole into the peaceful scenery, like if reality itself was starting to break apart around her. 

And so, Dia saw a disturbing scene before her. One that brought back vivid memories from the night she had been trying to forget no matter what. And so, faint words escaped her lips as all her senses screamed for help.

Yes, in other words, the concept of a fallen angel was something so simple. After all, by flipping the perspective, a fallen angel was simply:

“A demon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry for being late to post the update! Some stuff happened here and there so I had to delay it. I don't like keeping you guys in the dark whenever that happens, and I'm hoping I can always make it on time, but just in case, every time I delay an update I usually try to let you guys know at least on twitter. So if you are ever wondering what's up you can find me @YukiSetsuna!


	20. Absolute Oblivion

At that moment Dia stood before a powerful and sinister presence. There was only one thought running through her mind: It’s a demon, and not just any demon. As someone who was well known as a powerful alchemist across the land, Dia had fought against a wide range of different monsters and creatures. Even while extremely rare, she had faced up against a demon before. But this was different. This was way beyond that. This was on an entirely different level. This was on the level that made goose bumps spread across her skin. On the level that her hands and legs had started to shake before she could realize it. It was a feeling she remembered clearly. It was the same feeling as that night. 

But things weren’t the same as that night anymore. This time she wasn’t powerless. 

And so, her body moved on its own. The action she took was simple: to attack. Pulling out a diamond out of her pocket, she moved her hand while doing the motion of drawing out a blade. As a flash of golden light shot out and followed the trail of her hand, a large silver blade appeared. Her body shot forward as she held the hilt of her sword tightly. She began to swing her hand in the direction of the enemy, but the attack never connected.

Instead, her sword was stopped in midair. 

“What’s the matter?” A deep voice spoke in an incredibly calm and yet, sinister tone. “I just arrived here and this is the welcome I get?”

 _Yohane_ whispered into Dia’s ear. The black haired girl had no idea of when her enemy had approached her so closely. She had moved at an incredible speed in the blink of an eye. She had moved fast while making no sound at all. She held Dia’s sword with her hand. Despite the incredible force that Dia put behind the swing of her blade, Yohane had stopped the attack with no problem at all. 

Dia remained speechless and she wasn’t given enough time to think about her next action or react.

“Little kids shouldn’t be handling dangerous weapons like this.” Yohane scoffed. 

With a gentle twist of her hand, she broke apart the sword in Dia’s hand. As a piece of her blade flew across the air, it was incinerated in an instant. Dia’s eyes opened wide the moment she realized her weapon had been destroyed so easily. Her senses screamed at her to get away but it was too late. She could not even see what hit her. All she could see was the sudden spinning scenery around her. 

Dia’s body flew across the air and landed into the cold water of the stream by the waterfall. She had taken heavy damage in an instant, but that wasn’t enough to defeat Dia Kurosawa. 

The black haired girl rapidly looked up, staring at the enemy before her. She felt a chill run down her spine the moment her eyes met with Yohane’s. It felt like looking into something a regular human was not allowed to look at. 

Yohane’s lips moved forming a smirk as she looked down at Dia. Dia could feel an incredible sense of danger and slammed her hand against the cold water. A giant spear of ice shot from inside the water, running at Yohane at full speed. The spear crashed against the spot where Yohane stood with incredible force, making the water of the stream splash high up. But after the water dissipated, Yohane stood there. 

The black fire surrounding her body was burning nonstop, completely unaffected by the water. On top of that, the dark aura surrounding her body had just become way stronger. But this dark aura was very different from Chika’s. 

The dark aura that usually emanated from the orange haired girl looked almost like a black light, but this looked almost like some sort of black smoke that continued to emanate from Yohane’s body. The smoke swirled across her body unnaturally as incredible energy pulsated out of it.

“This is alchemy, isn’t it?” Yohane’s voice spoke gentle as ever. 

Her violet eyes were dyed with a bright red color as she stared right into Dia’s eyes. In fact, in just a second, she had kneeled down and was staring at Dia so close that all Dia could see was her enemy’s face. The moment she came into contact with Yohane this close up, Dia could feel the disturbing energy that pulsated out of Yohane. She could feel her body tremble with fear as the black energy ran around her arms, as if enveloping her, as if pulling her closer. 

Desperate to escape, Dia launched a kick towards Yohane’s gut and ran towards solid land. The moment the kick connected her alchemy activated and water rose up, surrounding Yohane. The water rapidly enveloped the fallen angel and completely hardened, as if forming a cage of ice. 

Once she was in dry land, Dia activated her alchemy once again, making the very earth around her rise up. It flew towards the ice cage and reinforced it, as if creating another solid and harder layer on top of it. 

“Useless.” 

Despite Yohane’s voice being so low, Dia could hear it loud and clear and that sent a sinking feeling down her gut. 

Large orbs of light appeared in midair, surrounding the cage that trapped the fallen angel. The lights all had different colors, as if representing the colors of a rainbow. They spun across the air and it was just like watching a roulette spin. Once they stopped, the light that was on top was a bright white light. 

Fearing what would happen next, Dia continued to activate her alchemy, reinforcing the cage more and more, burying Yohane deep inside her trap. But as she did this, the very cage became shrouded by the white light that had appeared on top of all the other lights. With a resounding roar, a blast of light shot from deep inside the cage, completely shattering it apart.

Yohane calmly stepped out of her prison and the multi-colored lights began to spin at her back once again. The moment she stepped out of the cage, large needles shot at her from all directions. In response, she swayed a hand across the air. The moment she did, a blue light stopped on top of the wheel of lights, and a wave of water unnaturally shot from below the stream, swallowing up the attacks that came towards her. 

“I have to admit.” She spoke without even bothering to look at Dia. As a yellow light stopped on top, the earth below Dia’s feet trembled and rose up, launching her up into the air. As a green light stopped on top, a powerful blast of wind punched Dia down into the waterfall. “Alchemy sure is dangerous under a mortal’s hands. I wouldn’t mind letting you become my little demon, but it wouldn’t be fair to Yoshiko if I let you live, not after what you did.”

“What I did…?” 

Dia couldn’t understand Yohane’s words. Incredible pain ran across her body and it was hard to even stand up after taking on the last attack. 

“It doesn’t matter if you remember or not.” Yohane shrugged. “I will let your soul rest forever in the land of burning flames, that is all there is to it.”

Having said this, Yohane extended her hand towards Dia. The wheel of lights at her back began to spin once more, stopping on a bright, silver light. 

“Fallen spirits, I order you to awaken and by my command let the advent of your cursed will befall my prey.” 

As she started chanting, a magic circle appeared at feet. Silver light began gathering on the palm of her hand from inside the circle and all the lights at her back continued spinning out of control. Even for someone like Dia, she could not tell what kind of magic this was. 

The black haired girl tried to react, but her body wouldn’t listen. It was as if her body had been completely frozen solid. No matter how much she struggled, she couldn’t move a single finger. She couldn’t do anything but watch as the massive energy gathered on the palm of Yohane’s hand. It swirled across her hand and condensed into a small orb as the dark aura around her began to get mixed in as well. 

“Farewell.” 

Yohane spoke while looking down at Dia. The black haired girl couldn’t help but feel like she was being looked down upon like someone would look down on an insect. Like the very concept of her life didn’t matter at all to this enemy. What she felt was not killer intent coming out of Yohane, but something worse, way beyond that. 

“Soul Crush.” 

Yohane spoke, she crushed the orb of condensed energy in her hand, letting out a bright and massive explosion that engulfed everything. The strength of her attack was enough to completely break apart the entire landscape around her and Dia was not even able to move away.

The fallen angel simply smiled as she stood in the midst of the explosion. She smiled as she felt the grand impact destroy everything. She smiled knowing that she had finally achieved her objective.

No. It wasn’t over yet. 

The light slowly dissipated. 

The person standing in front of her wasn’t Dia. 

It was Chika. 

The orange haired girl stood in front of her with a tattered body. She had managed to negate the full force of the impact while standing in front of Dia. So even if the attack had done considerable damage to the area surrounding Yohane, it didn’t do the decisive damage to the alchemist.

“What are you doing, Yoshiko?” Chika spoke as she glared at the powerful presence before her.

“Yoshiko?” Yohane laughed in a mocking voice. “She is gone.”

“That’s not true.” Chika refuted. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you, or why you are like this, but I’ll stop you!!”

“Chika, it is no use talking to her!!” Dia finally stood up again. “She is a demo-!!”

“No!” Chika clenched her fist, stepping forward. “Yoshiko is our friend, we have to help her!” 

“Friend?” Yohane laughed. More emotion started to leak out of her voice, but her tone remained low and calm at the same time. “You didn’t even know the smallest thing about her!! And you call her a friend?”

The wheel of colors behind her back disappeared and her body was surrounded by a dark burning fire once again. The fire rapidly jumped out of her body and ran towards Chika from different directions. 

Chika extended out her arms, trying to dispel the magic attack that ran towards her, but with fire coming from all directions she wouldn’t be able to get rid of it all at once. Being quick to react, Dia made a large wall of stone shoot out from below the ground, the wall worked as a shield, covering Chika’s blind spots and letting her get rid of the direct hit that was coming her way. 

But soon after that attack was stopped, Dia instantly broke apart the wall and stepped away from Chika fast. This was because she noticed something the orange haired girl hadn’t caught up on yet. 

“Besides.” Yohane smirked as she stared at Chika. “Do you truly intend to fight a fallen angel when your very essence is useless against me?”

That was when Chika noticed. It had started from the very moment she stopped her first attack, the large explosion that had changed the landscape. She remembered the theory that Dia had come up with before. The stronger the attack she stopped with her strange power, the stronger the dark aura that poured out of her hands would be. 

But that wasn’t all. In fact, once Chika stared at her own hands, she could see the dark aura slightly fading away. This was because it was all being pulled towards Yohane’s body. It continued to spread towards Yohane, and then it would become engulfed by the fallen angel’s own dark energy, mixing together with it and making it grow at a fast speed.

“This energy that surrounds me is called “miasma.” As a reward for granting me this much power, allow me to inform of a few secrets you weak mortals wouldn’t be able to know.” 

Yohane slowly stepped closer. Or that’s what it looked like to Chika at first. The moment she finished her step she was already standing just in front of her and her hand had already caught the orange haired girl’s wrist.

“Tell me mortal.” Yohane pulled Chika’s hand even closer to her, getting a clear look of the dark energy that continuously poured out of it. “Do you know what this is?”

“W-What are you-?!” Chika struggled, but was unable to free herself from the fallen angel’s grasp.

Seeing this scene, Dia ran forward trying to save her, but she was faced with a large wall of burning fire that blocked her path. 

“I understand you would be scared by the presence of such a dark creature. Good, this is how it should be. Fear me.” 

Yohane spoke. She then trailed her fingers across Chika’s palm, allowing the dark energy to spread across her very hands. Unlike the way it affected others like the time it affected Ruby, this energy didn’t hurt her. In fact, it looked as though it was just being absorbed by Yohane’s hand.

“I have to congratulate you. You have managed to impress even me, one of the most powerful fallen angels. It doesn’t stand up to my miasma, but not even top class arch-demons have such a pure and concentrated flow of “dark matter.”” 

“Dark matter…?” 

Chika repeated in a confused tone. For just a moment it felt as though something clicked inside her head but at the same time it felt like something was escaping her. It felt like having a puzzle and missing most of the pieces. 

“It’s such a shame it is being contained like this.” Yohane sighed but then smirked. “You don’t have to worry. I will gladly accept your sacrifice and take it.” 

Chika’s eyes then opened wide as she let out a scream. It took her mind some seconds to catch up with what happened. Piercing pain spread across her body as Yohane started twisting her wrist. Chika could hear the disturbing noise of her very bones cracking as her wrist continued being twisted in an unnatural manner. Despite this Yohane continued doing so with a peaceful expression in her face, to her it was something normal just like taking off the cap of a bottle.

“Chika!!” 

Dia let out a scream. She forced her way past the wall of fire despite her entire body being assaulted by incredible heat and her very skin getting slightly burnt. She tried pulling up a sword again to launch a direct attack against the fallen angel but her body was sent rolling against the floor by a blast of wind magic.

Despite this she struggled to stand up and charge at her enemy again. Chika’s loud screams of pain quickly awakened Dia’s senses, letting her send a giant spear of solid earth against Yohane. The spear was shattered apart with a swing of Yohane’s other arm but that bought Chika enough time to go ahead and launch a punch with her other fist.

The moment Chika did this, the miasma surrounding Yohane’s body acted strength. Instead of giving her energy, it was drawn towards Chika’s fist and reinforced the impact of her attack. The action had been sudden enough for Yohane to let go of her for just a second, letting her escape her grasp and run for cover behind Dia. 

But even if she had managed to escape, Chika had taken considerable damage. Her left hand dropped limply in front of her body. She couldn’t get it to move at all anymore and she had lost all feeling on that arm thanks to the shock.

“Dia.” Chika spoke with a shaking voice. “Remember… the shield you were going to make? I need you to make it now.”

“Now? That will not work! Mythril is a very complicated material to manipulate! I don’t have the leisure to stop and make that-!”

“We have no choice.” 

Chika spoke decisively. Her entire body was shaking in fear and she could feel cold sweat rolling down her forehead. To top it off, she couldn’t use one of her arms anymore, and her legs felt like they were about to give out at any moment. But even then, she still stepped forward.

“We have to save her. How are we going to save the world if we can’t even save our friend?!”

“Save me?” Yohane laughed. 

“Chika! Do you realize what you are saying?!”

“I do!” Chika clenched her right fist and continued to move forward. “But I know that deep inside, she needs our help, Yoshiko needs our help!! After all she…”

Chika had seen it clearly. At the moment it all happened. Back in the cave, at the moment Yoshiko lost herself. At the moment Yohane had taken the action that triggered this, something that only Chika was there to experience happened.

_“I’m sorry.”_

A faint voice had escaped her lips as she looked at Chika. 

At that moment the image of that vulnerable, lonely girl had reflected into Chika’s eyes as she spoke words that could only reach her.

“After all…” Chika ran forward. “In the very end! She asked for my help! So I can’t abandon her!!”

As she spoke, recent images ran vividly across Chika’s head.

The moment Yohane had reached for Chika’s hand while holding the mythril stone, a link was created between them. It was the link that allowed Chika’s dark matter to travel to her body. That should have been all that happened. But Chika had seen it. As their eyes locked against each other, a series of images ran across Chika’s head.

There she saw the image of a young girl living inside an old town. The town wasn’t all that different from the Uchiura she knew, but it wasn’t the same either. At the moment, the orange haired girl couldn’t understand but a powerful feeling of nostalgia assaulted her heart. Soon after, a feeling of pain, of loneliness, and other feelings she couldn’t even understand all ran across her.

Even if she didn’t know why or how this happened, because of the special link that was created, there was something she could tell for certain. These weren’t her feelings, but the ones of that small girl that walked across the town. 

Despite feeling like she was standing in a small and peaceful town, the image that spread across Chika’s eyes was anything but peaceful. The entire town had become a sea of fire. It was very similar to the image she had seen of Uchiura the day she had fought Tsubasa. But there was something different. At that time, Uchiura had been almost empty and silent, but in this town many people ran for their lives. The atmosphere was surrounded by chaos and turmoil. The silence was polluted by screams of pain and cries for help. 

In an instant the image before her had changed, she could only see the girl hiding under a table as an older woman that looked similar had tried to protect her. But she failed doing so. And so, she could see the image of that woman falling to the ground while devoid of life. But her life hadn’t been taken by any kind of magic or supernatural power. It had been taken by an unforgiving blade.

This is when the image started to blur more and more. It became impossible to see anything properly. But the last thing Chika saw was the person who stood before the crying child as they held a blade full of blood. Chika could not tell apart their face or figure, the only thing she was able to make out was: a girl with long black hair.

And then, Chika came back to her senses. She was standing inside the cave, and it felt like only a second had passed. At that time, the words that reached Chika were all she needed to push her and let her take action. It was enough to let her keep fighting no matter what.

_“Please, save me.”_

The image of that girl begging for help was clear and vivid inside Chika’s mind. 

“That is why I won’t abandon you!” Chika spoke at the malicious presence now before her. “I don’t care if you are Yohane, Yoshiko or whatever you are!! I will save you both!!”

“Tch.” Yohane clicked her tongue. “In that case, so be it. Come at me. I will pass out judgment upon you and consume your very soul.” 

“Chika.” Dia spoke with a serious voice. Now that it has come to this, there was only one thing she could do. “Use this.”

Having said this, Dia pulled a large ruby out of her pocket. Instead of the usual light of alchemy, the ruby lit up with an intense red light that came from the inside. 

Chika caught the gem after Dia hurled it at her. The moment the gem came in contact with Chika’s hand, the usual effect took place. All the massive power inside the gem was instantly dispelled and converted into dark matter of equal power. 

“Are you serious? You are feeding me even more power?” 

Yohane tried to hold back her laughter as Chika charged at her. But the expression in the orange haired girl didn’t change. She glared at the fallen angel as energy exploded out of her hand. Despite the dark matter being constantly absorbed by Yohane, the amount of concentrated energy Dia had given her was high enough to let the energy continue to rest in her hand without any visible change. 

By reflex, Yohane let out a blast of magic using her roulette, this time a powerful wave of water rose up and ran into Chika’s direction but the orange haired girl broke past it and continued to run towards her opponent. By the time she had finally reached Yohane, all of her dark matter had been completely consumed, but Chika didn’t stop. Instead, she launched a punch forward with all of her might.

“Heh, it’s so cute to see such pitiful creatures think they have a chance.” 

Yohane laughed. All of the energy she taken from Chika had already become part of her misma. The miasma continued to swirl around her body at a fast speed, acting like a perfect shield for any incoming attacks, but Chika’s hand pierced right past it. 

Letting her guard down proved to be a mistake for the fallen angel, once Chika’s punch connected against her chest she was suddenly thrown back. It was as if there had been more than just a punch behind the attack. It was as if the very miasma that had been protecting her acted against her to make the force of the impact higher.

“I see.” The fallen angel placed her hand upon her chest as she was blown back. She had barely managed to stop herself from falling. “Your vessel is compatible with dark matter of all things, it’s no surprise you are unaffected by this.”

As Chika continued to fight the fallen angel, Dia had rapidly started her work as well. She had drawn a circle with two triangles inside it and different symbols all around the edges on the floor. After that, she placed different kind of gems on the corners of each triangle and finished by placing all of the mythril she had just gathered in the center of the circle. 

Taking a deep breath, she pressed her hands against the surface of the circle, activating a powerful surge of light that enveloped her completely.

Despite her body having taken so much damage and only being able to use one of her arms, Chika continued to push forward in order to buy time for Dia. Being able to dispel all of the fallen angel’s magic and being able to get past her barrier of miasma, she still had a chance in this fight. Or so she thought.

“Yoshiko! Give it up already and go back to normal!!”

“Normal?” Yohane tilted her head. “What do you know about her? What do you know what _normal_ is?”

“It is true that I might not know anything about you.” Chika broke past a surge of fire, a blast of wind and even a beam of concentrated lightning. “But I know you aren’t like this!! I know you can’t be evil!! So let’s become friends and I promise I’ll get to know you better!!”

“Don’t get the wrong idea.” Yohane’s voice sounded a lot more devoid of emotion. “Do you seriously believe you can become friends with a fallen angel like me? Do you truly think that is possible for a mere mortal like you?” 

“It is!!”

Chika was finally in range to launch another direct attack. After saying her statement she launched another punch forward, but it was never able to connect.

“Don’t make me laugh.” 

She could hear Yohane’s voice but Yohane wasn’t in her line of sight anymore. In that moment, the morning skies started to darken with black clouds. Chika rapidly looked up, Yohane was there, suspended in midair. No, she wasn’t just levitating atop the air. In an instant the entire Miasma around her body had gathered on her back, taking the shape of four very large dark wings made of black feathers that flapped in the air. 

But that wasn’t all, as the skies continued to darken, cracks started to appear across the space where Yohane stood. The cracks gave the impression that the very fabric of reality was starting to fall apart. And then, behind her large wings, a wheel of orbs of different colors spun behind her back. Their energy started to condense as they started growing smaller in size and then moved on top of the fallen angel’s head, as if forming a holy ring. 

“I have to thank you in the end.” Yohane spoke. However, something was different about her voice. Even if it was still deep, it was like there was a second rough and distorted voice behind it. A deep, heavy voice that would send chills down anyone’s spines. “I have managed to ascend to this form thanks to your power. Allow me to thank you by erasing your very existence.”

Chika clenched her fist as tightly as she could and stepped back by instinct. She slightly glanced behind her and saw the golden light that continued to engulf Dia. It seemed like she had no choice but to continue buying some time on her own. But this wasn’t a fight where she could stand on an equal ground anymore. It never was. The being that stood before her had ascended way beyond that. It was a being that defied the very laws of the world. 

All it took was for Yohane to flap her wings to make the very earth tremble and make the water jump up into waves. 

And her enemy wouldn’t be so merciful as to patiently wait or give her time to think. With another flap of her wings Yohane flew up high into the skies and then began to descend towards Chika’s direction at full speed. Chika felt her body about to be blown away by the air pressure but her body didn’t budge. This wasn’t because of Chika actually being able to resist, but because her feet had been trapped against the solid ground with earth magic. 

Unable to escape anywhere, Chika had no option but to fight back. And yet, the speed and force in which Yohane descended was too powerful. Chika knew she would be losing her right arm as well if she took on that attack. She would be left with no means to fight anymore. 

The orange haired girl took a deep breath, gulped and clenched the fist of her already damaged left hand. Putting every last bit of willpower behind it, she launched a punch forward just as Yohane’s attack was about to connect. Her fist landed a solid and direct hit against Yohane’s right fist, but the force of the recoil instantly let out an impact across Chika’s body. She could feel her entire body cry out in pain and she could feel the very bones of her left arm cracking apart. 

But even then, she couldn’t let go. Yohane’s attack wasn’t so weak that it would be stopped by a single punch. The only reason this had allowed Chika to fight back is because Yohane’s miasma was acting strangely again upon contact. It was as if Chika was borrowing the same power that had allowed the materialization of the fallen angel’s wings to fight back against her. She could feel an intense surge of energy shielding her against the impact but she could also feel the incredible pressure of Yohane’s attack pushing her back. 

Even with the energy backing Chika up, the amount of damage she had taken was too big. She was only being able to hold on by sheer willpower alone, willpower that was driven by the radiant desire to save someone. 

“Why?!” Yohane was starting to grow desperate. “Why won’t you break apart?!”

“I… already told you.” Chika’s voice was shaky and she had trouble letting out words. “I’m going… to… save you and then… we will be friends!!”

But instead of bringing relief, this only angered Yohane more and more. The power of her rage was starting to push Chika down, making her very feet slowly get buried in the ground.

“I don’t need any friends!!” Yohane yelled with her distorted voice. “I don’t need saving!!”

As her anger grew so did the power behind her attack. At this rate, Chika wouldn’t be able to hold on anymore, at this rate, she would truly break. 

“Bzzzt, that’s wrong!” 

In an instant, as if the very light of the atmosphere had been manipulated, a massive blast of gold light blew Yohane away, releasing Chika from the attack. 

The fallen angel looked at the direction of the voice to see the person that had released such a powerful attack. It was Dia Kurosawa. But there was something different about her. She could sense an immense source of power radiating from her. 

The orange haired girl turned around to look at her savior and her eyes opened wide in surprise. 

Dia was no longer wearing the uniform of The Liberation. Instead, her clothes had changed to a beautiful red yukata with flower patterns drawn around it. She had a large red ribbon on her back, and her head was decorated by a golden crown and a red flower. Instead of her usual sword, she held a different weapon in her hand, a large fan of red and gold color. On top of this, she was surrounded by a golden glow. It was similar to the light that appeared whenever she used alchemy but this time it was constantly swirling around her body.

“Idolization: Yukata.” She spoke as she stepped forward without fear.

Chika had no doubts anymore; Dia had used her Love Gem. 

“Chika was right.” The radiant black haired girl spoke as she glared at the fallen angel. “If we cannot save our new friend, how are we supposed to save anyone? I do not know what led you to become like this, but we will put a stop to it.”

After saying that, she hurled something towards Chika. The orange haired girl reacted fast and was able to catch the strange item in midair. It was a pair of gloves that looked like they were made of a translucent crystal. Touching them felt like touching some kind of metal and they had a strange design with a circle in the middle and triangles on the palms. 

“T-This is the shield?!” Chika asked confused.

“Go ahead and wear them, time for questions will come later.”

After saying this, Dia gave a step forward. Her body moved at such a fast speed that Yohane was unable to see at what moment she stepped in front of her. 

The fallen angel began to flap her wings in order to escape. The wind pressure created by her large wings was enough to send a regular person flying away but this didn’t work on Dia. 

The black haired girl swung the fan in her hands and the golden glow spread all across the air. In an instant a great surge of wind shot from all directions towards Yohane, lifting up a small tornado. The fallen angel spun in midair as she was carried away by the air current. This too, was alchemy. All Dia was doing was using different “materials” that she normally didn’t have access to, like the wind itself.

Yohane’s wings let out a roar and an explosion of flames burst from her body. The flames lit up the tornado on fire, letting the flames spread all across the land and towards the girls that opposed her.

But in this state, fire, was yet again another material Dia had gained access to. With a swing of her fan, all of the fire was blown away and transformed into needles that shot towards Yohane from all different directions. 

The fallen angel flew up high desperately trying to avoid Dia’s merciless attack but the sky wasn’t a safe place to hide anymore. With a single jump Dia’s body flew up high, going after her enemy. The fallen angel wasn’t given a single second to react. With a swift and elegant movement, Dia’s fingers reached for the shoulders of the fallen angel and sent her crashing at full speed against the ground.

“T-This can’t be.” Yohane spoke. Her distorted voice was gradually fading away. “How can a mere mortal stand on the same stage as a fallen angel?!”

“Fallen angel? Mortals? Why does it matter?.” Chika spoke. 

The fallen angel’s eyes opened wide the moment she saw the orange haired girl walking in her direction. She tried to flap her wings again to escape but… her wings were gone. This is when she realized, all the miasma surrounding her body was starting to fade away. It was all flowing back towards Chika’s direction.

“W-Wha-?!”

“Whatever this “dark matter” or “misma” energy is, it seems to be drawn towards Chika, first and foremost.” Dia explained. She spoke at Yohane while glaring at her. “In other words, now that the energy can’t escape her anymore, it’s all being drawn back to her.”

For the first time, the fallen angel felt fear. She could fear her energy fading away. She could see the person who was draining her energy approaching her, and she could see someone who had the power to end her life in an instant glare at her.

“Yohane, I already told you,” Chika spoke with a serious tone. “If you have no one, I will be your friend. If you have nowhere to go, you can stay with us. I don’t know if there are two of you inside there, and I don’t care either way. I will save you both.”

She spoke as she approached Yohane, every time walking faster.

“Yoshiko.” And then she reached out to the lonely, powerless girl. “If you feel like you can’t turn back anymore, then I’ll help you start from the beginning. If you feel like there is nothing to look forward to in your life anymore, then I will give it meaning.”

“Stop!!” Yohane yelled. As she screamed her voice slowly broke apart turning into her higher, more innocent voice. “Stop stop stop stop stop stop!! There is nothing you can do for me!! There is nothing for me anymore!! You can’t-!!”

And as she yelled, the wheel of lights spinning above her head all merged into one, ready to release one last unknown and powerful attack. Dia was ready to step in but Chika continued running forward. 

“There is!!” The orange haired girl clenched her right fist. “You don’t have to be alone anymore! If you think you already reached the end of the line, then, I will reset it! From one to zero!!” 

And with that, Chika launched a punch forward. She broke through the large mass of magic that was about to implode, completely shattering it apart. And then, she finally reached Yoshiko. 

The blue haired bun girl closed her eyes tightly ready to receive the full force of Chika’s attack, but that attack never came. Instead, she received a warm embrace that made tears roll down her face.

“Hug?” Chika smiled at her, acting like none of this had ever happened.

Looking at this scene, for a moment Dia felt like she was looking at a younger Kanan.

“I guess she really rubs off on you.” The black haired girl smiled and the power of the Love Gem faded away, letting the gem in her hand darken out. 

“Now.” Chika extended out her hand at Yoshiko after letting go of her. “Will you be our friend?”

“But I might get like this again… and I may act weird and ask you to call me Yohane!!”

“So?”

“I might even ask you to become my little demon!!”

“Honestly.” Dia spoke in an annoyed tone. She approached Yoshiko and extended out her hand as well. “After all you did, you have no right to refuse.”

“Hmm~?” Chika spoke at Dia with a teasing tone. “I thought you were against dangerous people joining us.”

“I-It is not like I want her to join us or anything!!” She looked away and scratched the area around her mole with her finger.

“You really can’t be nice for once!! You are ruining the moment!!”

“I-I am?!” Dia puffed her cheeks. “You were the one that started it!!”

Looking at the two of them go on with their usual banter, it almost felt unreal to Yoshiko. Looking at the two of them smiling at her and extend out their hands at her felt unreal to Yohane. Did she really find a place to belong now? She couldn’t tell for sure so easily. There were many things that still troubled her. But there was something she was certain about. She wanted to give it a try. She wanted to try and change and give it her all for them. 

And so, the fallen angel took their hands. And so, she wasn’t alone anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's finally a longer update with a battle scene! I hope you enjoyed reading it, I personally think this chapter was fun to write! 
> 
> Similar to how I'm using Ruby's catchphrase in english, I've decided to go for “Bzzzt, that’s wrong!” instead of Dia's "Buu buu desu wa!" since I feel it'd fit a little better with my style of writing for this story. 
> 
> Needless to say, we've reached the end of this particular arc, and the beginning of Yoshiko's story line. I felt like so far, she was the character we knew the less about in this story and even though there are still a lot of mysteries surrounding her circumstances and her past, I really wanted to dedicate a chapter to her as well as to showcase the extent of her true power as a fallen angel while properly letting her join the party!


	21. Heart of Glass - Part 1

“This is fine and all but…” Dia whispered nervously under her breath as they walked back to the hotel. It wasn’t hard for her to take notice of their tattered bodies. “What do we do now? If Kanan sees us like this it is over for us.”

“Uh-oh.” 

Chika immediately realized the kind of danger she was in. Not only was she limping as she walked but her left arm dangled in front of her body and chances were most of the bones in that arm were all broken. The thought of the scolding she would get from Kanan if she realized was much scarier than the pain she felt running across her body at that moment.

“Hm? Isn’t that her over there?” The blue haired bun girl pointed towards a street not too far from where they stood. 

Dia was quick to use her hand to cover their mouths and pull them both behind some bushes to prevent them all from being seen.

(I forgot!! Of course she would wake up this early to go for a morning jog!!)

Both Chika and Dia yelled inside their minds as if they had entered perfect sync for just a second. 

“(What do we do now?!)” Chika whispered in a desperate tone.

“(If we get back to the hotel Hanamaru can fix you up, for now let us wait and…)”

“Hey!” A familiar voice called out to them. “What are you doing here?”

Even though she couldn’t understand why the other two were so scared, seeing them nervous was making Yohane nervous too. The moment this voice called out to them, someone was standing right in front of her, which made her jump to her feet. Of course that person was Kanan. The blue haired ponytail girl looked full of energy despite being so early.

Not knowing what to say, the blue haired bun girl turned around at the other girls to try and look for backup but they were nowhere to be seen. Chika and Dia had made an escape in just an instant.

“Oh, I get it!” Kanan nodded after staring at Yohane for a few seconds. “You like to do morning exercise as well, don’t you?”

“E-Eh? I… A-A fallen angel doesn’t need to engage in such activities!” 

“Aw, no need to be so shy!” 

Kanan gave her a pat on the back making Yohane cough up. Even though it was just a simple pat for Kanan, Yohane felt like a very powerful impact had just hit her. 

“Let’s go! I’ll join you getting some more done! Moving is important for our bodies after all!!” 

Kanan gave her a smile as she held her wrist. Yohane wasn’t given time to refute or say anything else. She was dragged into what would become one of her longest mornings ever. 

In the meantime, Chika and Dia silently scurried towards the hotel. They walked towards the door making sure they would make no noise and alert no one of their presence. The door leading inside the hotel was still very fragile so Dia reached for its handle carefully and started to open the door.

“SHINY!!!”

But the door was opened wide as a blonde girl cheerfully walked out of the old building.

“Look everyone! It’s another BEAUTIFUL morning!!”

“M-M-Mari?!” Dia jumped up extremely startled.

“Huh? Dia? Where were you all this time?!”  
“T-That’s…”

“Oh, so that’s where Chika was!!” 

The one who walked outside this time was the gray haired sailor girl. 

“Chika! You had us worried for a while, we couldn’t find you anywhere.”

Riko gave a sigh of relief, walking outside as well.

“A…Ahaha sorry about that…”

Chika attempted to hide behind Dia. You and Riko looked at each other and then back at Chika with a suspicious glare. They could tell something was up right away.

“A-Anyway!” Dia gave a step back. “What is everyone doing up so early already?”

“There was a locked room murder, zura!!”

“A WHAT?!”

“D-Don’t worry about that sis.” Ruby immediately covered Hanamaru’s mouth. “It wasn’t big deal at all!”

“That’s right!” Mari nodded and then proudly put her hands on her hips. “Everything is taken care of now, so everything is OKAY!” 

“I see…” 

Dia couldn’t help but wonder, what were they hiding from her? But she wasn’t in any position to question them, not when she was hiding something as well.

“W-Well… how about we go ahead and get some breakfast? I am starving, ahahaha. Now if you would excuse me-!!” 

After taking grasp of Chika’s right arm, Dia rapidly got hold of Hanamaru and rushed into the hotel at full speed, leaving everyone behind.

“Z-Zura?!”

“Ahaha….” 

Dia’s nervous laugh echoed across the halls as she ran even deeper into the hotel. Everyone looked at each other and sighed in relief after their own little secret wasn’t found. Just what happened while Dia and the others were gone in the morning?

Despite this being such a hectic morning in so many ways for everyone, in the end things ended up way better than expected. Thanks to Hanamaru’s healing earth magic, Chika was able to use her left arm again. It seemed like even with healing magic she still had to be careful, as damage wasn’t fully healed so easily, but it was still enough to let her return to normal for the most part. 

As usual, You prepared a good meal for everyone. The amount of food she had to prepare had certainly increased compared to when she lived in Uchiura, but she didn’t mind. In the midst of everything, it was moments like this that felt normal and refreshing. 

Soon after, Kanan arrived while carrying an exhausted Yohane on her back. 

The blue haired bun girl sat on her chair and stared at her food with soulless eyes. She didn’t even have enough energy left to eat.

“Hmm~”

A gaze was locked into the fallen angel while everyone was distracted with their own conversations. 

“W-What is it?” Yohane turned around. She nervously looked at the source where that gaze was coming from: Hanamaru.

“You did it again, didn’t you?” Hanamaru accused her with a teasing tone.

“I don’t know what you are talking about!!”

“It’s not good to lie, zura.” Hanamaru gave her a pat on the shoulder.

At first glance it looked like just a simple pat, but she had healing magic on her palm at that moment, helping Yohane feel much better.

Like this, another morning came to an end. It was time to continue their quest towards Tokyo.

☆

“Okay _everyone_ let’s stop here!”

Mari who had been leading the group across the desolate land came to a sudden halt. 

In the midst of nowhere, there was a strange structure in front of her. It looked like a series of massive walls that spread up high and wide. If one were to look at it from above it was a literal maze in the middle of a large flower field. The flowers however were of an omnibus dark purple color. Despite looking beautiful, it was easy to feel a sense of danger coming out from them.

“Huh?” Chika tilted her head. “What is this?”

“Remember how we said it was difficult to get to Tokyo?” Dia crossed her arms. “It is not just monsters. There are many different abnormalities affecting the environment the closer you get to Tokyo, and this is one of them.”

“ _Yes_ ” Mari rested her head on her hand, looking a little annoyed. “This is a giant sized maze that is always changing. We have no idea why it appeared here but it took us three days to get past this last time.”

“T-Three days?!” You was shocked. 

It was almost the same time they had spent between leaving the forest and making it here.

“Is… Tokyo on the other side of this maze?” Riko asked cautiously.

“I wish.” Dia sighed. “If we cross this maze we will make it to Hakone. It is a town well known for its hot springs resorts. We can rest there and we will be a lot closer to Tokyo by then.”

“That is good and all but, can we really just get past this so easily?” Kanan still wasn’t convinced. 

“It’s NO PROBLEM!” Mari reassured her. “I have a secret plan!”

“That worries me even more.” 

“Kanan you just got to believe in ME!”

The blonde girl placed her hands on Kanan’s shoulders and started pushing her towards the entrance of the maze. From outside, the entrance looked like the entrance for some sort of garden. There was an arch of flowers functioning as a door and the place looked really full of life compared to the desolate land they had to cross in order to get here. 

“LET’S GO!!” Mari declared cheerfully as she crossed the gate along with Kanan.

The other girls looked at each other a little uncertain so the one to take action this time was Dia. 

“Alright. Let us go, just make sure to stick together and we will be fine.” 

Even though Mari was a really reliable person on her own right, hearing Dia reassure them made everyone feel a little more at ease. One by one, all the girls started walking inside while following Dia closely. 

“S-Sorry mister flower.” 

Ruby apologized in a small tone as she stepped into the maze. Since all the ground was covered by a large field of dark purple flowers, she had no choice but to step on them in order to move forward. She couldn’t help but feel guilty as she had to crush the flowers with her feet but to her surprise, the moment she turned around to look at them, the flowers she had stepped on looked completely undamaged. 

There was certainly something out of place here. For some reason Riko couldn’t help but feel like something was off. Maybe it was the strange aroma that surrounded the place. Despite the aroma being sweet there was something else that mixed with the air, something she couldn’t put her finger on. 

“Ah, so this is it.” Yohane extended out her arms to the skies. “A trial worthy of my dark power!!” 

“Let’s just keep going, zura.” Hanamaru spoke with a sweet, yet menacing tone while grasping Yohane’s shoulder with a lot of force. 

“R-Right…” The blue haired bun girl snapped into her shy self. She was a little scared of Hanamaru when she was like this. 

“By the way,” You spoke as she walked next to Chika. “What are those?”

“These?” Chika looked at her hands. She was wearing the mythril gloves Dia had given her earlier. Then she took a pose while looking into the eyes of the sailor girl and trying to change her tone of voice. “They are the mystic artifacts that seal away my dark power.”

“…”

Not being able to process what just happened, You glared at Yohane who walked just in front of her. Unaware of what happened; Yohane could feel shivers run down her spine as You’s glare put pressure on her.

“Ehehe.” Chika scratched the back of her head looking embarrassed. “But aren’t they cool? Dia made them for me! They are supposed to help with my power!”

“Huh, they do look really unique!” You held Chika’s hand, examining the gloves curiously. “I wonder what kind of uniform they would look good with…”

“Uniform?”

“The color isn’t too bright so they could look well with a variety of things. A captain uniform? Or maybe a police one… no. I don’t think it would work with a police one, but it might look great on a uniform with an overall light color.” 

“You?”

Chika tilted her head confused, but the gray haired girl continued talking to herself as she examined Chika’s hand. It was like she was suddenly lost in her own world and it would be hard to snap her out of it. 

“It’s okay if you want to take a look but if you are going to touch those gloves make sure you don’t pour any magic on them while Chika is wearing them.” Dia who was walking behind the two girls gave them a warning.

The girls all continued walking forward in a carefree manner. It felt like at this rate they would be out of this strange maze in no time.

☆

“So…” Kanan gave Mari an angry glare. “What about that SECRET plan?”

Mari gave a step back a little startled. Looking at the place around her, it was clear that they had hit a dead end on the maze. Not only that but they had separated from the rest of the group excluding Hanamaru and Yohane. 

“I-It’s okay!” Mari nodded trying to sound confident. “Here is my secret plan!!”

She grabbed Hanamaru by the shoulders and pushed her forward. 

“Hanamaru! Guide us!!”

“Zura?”

“You said you were able to get a perfect layout of the forest using your magic, right? Then you can do the same here!”

“U-Um…” Hanamaru looked away. She was afraid to speak but didn’t want to hold this responsibility either. “The flowers here… aren’t connected to any root of power. I can’t even sense any legendary power in them, zura.”

“W-WHAT?!”

“…”

The ponytail girl sat on the floor, staring at the wall in front of her with dead eyes. 

“K-Kanan?” 

“…”

“Are you… _okay?_ ”

“Mari…”

“ _Yes?_ ”

“Mari.”

“ _Y-Yes?_ ”

“WHAT DO WE DO NOW?!”

“Kukuku, do not fear.” Yohane stepped forward. “Now that we are in a pinch the time to activate my sixth sense has come. Now! Follow me! I shall guide you to the path of truth!!”

Kanan looked at Yohane and then back at Mari who simply gave her a shrug as if saying “ _Why not?_ ”

“Wait! I don’t think that’s a good idea, zura!!”

“Silence, zuramaru. I won’t let you take away my moment of glory.”

With Yohane leading the way, they started moving even deeper into the maze.

 

Somewhere along a different path, Dia walked alongside Chika and You.

“Are we there yet?” 

Chika complained annoyed. They had already walked a long way to make it here in the first place, so it was no wonder her legs already felt like giving out. 

“It does feel like we’ve been here for a while. How long is this maze really?” You wondered. 

“I believe it is not that big actually.” Dia tried recalling the last time she adventured across this place with Mari. “The biggest problem is that some paths randomly change position, it makes it easy for you to get lost.”

“In other words.” You was trying to keep herself and Chika distracted by theorizing. “Once we actually try to make our way back the place is going to be entirely different, is that right?”

“Exactly.”

“Can’t you use your alchemy to open a path?” The orange haired girl felt annoyed at herself for only thinking about this solution up till now.

“Unfortunately.” Dia placed a hand against one of the walls. A spark of golden light was released but it instantly faded away before anything could happen. “I am not able to understand what material was used to make these walls. Therefore I cannot use my alchemy here.”

“Hmm…” Chika was lost in thought, refusing to give up so easily. “Then how about shooting something like a giant spike to break apart through these walls?”

The black haired girl shook her head feeling defeated.

“Not even Mari’s guns which have the highest firepower amongst us could do it. Whatever this material is, I believe it could withstand even a nuclear blast.”

“I can’t tell if this really useful or really dangerous…”

“In other words…” Chika continued to be stubborn. “The wall is made of something unknown right?”

“Yes?” 

Dia stared at the orange haired girl as she slowly stepped back. 

“Then maybe my power will work!!”

She ran towards the wall launching a powerful punch with her right fist, but the wall was entirely undamaged. Instead Chika could feel the impact of her attack rebounding right into her body at full force. Her body was flung backwards thanks to the impact but You was quick to catch her before she would collapse into the floor. 

“Ow… you can’t be serious.”

“Geez, what are you doing?!” Dia scolded her. “I told you that would not work!!”

“Hmph.” Chika pouted looking away but she finally realized something at that moment. “Wait- Where is everyone?!”

“Huh?!” 

You and Dia both started looking around and the realization that they were the only ones walking across the maze finally hit them. The three of them had been so distracted that they did not even realize at what point they separated from everyone else.

“W-W-W-Wait…” Dia’s voice trembled. “Does this mean everyone else got lost?!”

“No-” You was quick to correct her. “Most likely… WE are the ones that got lost!!”

“What?!”

“There’s nothing to worry about.” 

Chika however spoke with a positive tone of voice. The two girls stared at her curiously as she searched her pockets, pulling out a mandarin orange out. 

“What are you-?” Dia tried to question her but she was interrupted by Chika who started to explain anyway. 

“It’s one of my good luck mandarin oranges! It will show us the way!!”

“Huh?!”

You simply gave Dia a shrug. She was already used to Chika doing things like these so she wasn’t surprised in the slightest. The black haired girl was left speechless as Chika kneeled down, putting the orange into the ground and rolling it further into the maze.

The bright pink eyes of the orange haired girl locked into the orange as it rolled forward. She stared at it in suspense wondering where it would go and then it finally came to stop not too far away from where she stood.

“Let’s go!!”

“Yousoro!!”

“…”

Still stunned and in complete disbelief, Dia had no choice but to go along with this and follow them forward hoping that they could reunite with the main group. 

 

But they weren’t the only ones who got separated and lost in the maze. A pair of honey colored eyes stared at the afternoon skies. Riko walked forward across the strange structure while lost in thought. Despite the strange feeling this place gave off, she was glad that it wasn’t as bad as the forest from before. Even if it was similar in the aspect of getting lost easily, getting a clear view of the sky made her feel like she wasn’t entirely trapped here. 

On one hand, that was a relief but on the other hand, she was lost. It all happened in an instant. She had been careful to walk behind the main group, she had been careful to put an eye on everyone, but that didn’t work in the end. As the main group continued to walk forward, the walls of the maze moved. They moved with a swift and silent movement, it had happened so fast she would have missed it if she blinked. And so, everyone ended up following a different path, like being led into different ways through a rotating door. 

At that moment she tried to call out to them, but there was no response whatsoever. And now…

“P-Pigii!!” Ruby let out a squeak, startled by the howling wind. 

Riko knew that the red pigtail girl hadn’t realized it but Ruby was clinging tightly unto her arm as both walked forward. 

“It’s starting to get really cold.” Riko complained. “Are you okay?”

“R-Ruby is fine.” The pigtail girl gave her quick nod. “Ruby has trained with sis under a lot of different weather conditions after all!”

“Really?” Riko tried to keep the conversation going, but she felt a little awkward. For a while they had been walking in pure silence except for the sounds Ruby would occasionally make. But at the same time, it was easy to tell how scared this girl was, Riko wanted to try to distract her to make her feel a little better. “Training for alchemy must be really complicated.”

“It is!!” Ruby felt like she was having sudden flashbacks to all of the training she had done so far. “Ruby isn’t very smart but… I gave it my Rubesty!! There was a lot of math and formulas involved… it was really hard at first.”

“Math?”

“Yes!! We use it to calculate things like the different masses each object has. We have to do the calculations every time we use alchemy so Ruby isn’t too confident of her skills yet.”  
“Y-You calculate formulas every time you use that power?!” 

Riko was taken aback for a moment. That sounded a million more times complicated than magic. When it came to magic the process was very different. Riko could only speak for herself as there were many different kinds of magic that worked different for each person, but to her, it was a lot like music or art. Using her magic was something that came forth by focusing on how it felt, like the way she felt when thinking of a melody. It was like using it to change the world around her a little bit, like the way she would paint into a canvas. In a sense, it was something that came to her naturally, so the thought that having to do a lot of complex formulas in your head to use a similar power was scary. It sounded like something absolutely impossible; right now she couldn’t help but think of Ruby and Dia like some sort of crazy geniuses. 

In response Ruby simply gave her a nod. While it was true that it was very difficult at first, after so much training this was like a given to her. Even when it came to some of the formulas she could just pull it off by instinct. 

“Can I ask you something?” Something suddenly popped into Riko’s head.

“What is it?”

“Why did you decide to study alchemy? Is there a reason you didn’t want to go for magic instead?”

“Ruby…” The red haired girl paused for a moment before speaking. “Wanted to try and use magic, but our parents always forbid it. Despite being well known for being famous fisherman, our family had also mastered alchemy, so it was passed onto sis and me just like that.”

“Magic was forbidden…?” 

Riko unconsciously asked a question out loud. She immediately felt bad, realizing that she might have stepped into a red flag that shouldn’t be brought up but Ruby didn’t mind. The red pigtail girl calmly gave her an answer.

“It’s because they said… magic called the demon.”

“The demon?!”

“R-Ruby was too small so Ruby doesn’t remember but… something horrible happened thanks to the demon. Something not even sis wants to tell me about.”

Hearing this, Riko could feel goose bumps covering her skin. The thought of a demon and something horrible sounded like it rang a bell deep inside but she wasn’t sure why. On top of that, the more Ruby kept talking about it, the more nervous she started to grow. The howling wind and the sun setting weren’t helping at all either. It was like listening to a scary story in the middle of the night, but maybe because this wasn’t just a story to Ruby, she wasn’t that scared.

“Ruby doesn’t know what happened but… they said the demon took our dad.”

“Wha-?”

“Then… our mom tried to… she tried to…but then sis… she…”

Riko could tell the conversation was slowly growing more eerie and tense. It felt like Ruby wanted to speak about it, it felt like she knew more than what she let on, but at the same time her voice started to break as she spoke, making her unable to complete her sentences as tears started rolling down her face. 

Despite her trying to stay strong for so long, she was having a hard time and ended up failing.

Seeing the way Ruby started to cry made Riko panic. She didn’t know what she should say or what she should do in a situation like this, so her immediate reaction was to hug Ruby tightly. 

“There there, it’s okay.” Riko gave Ruby a pat in the head trying to help her calm down. “For now, let’s go find your sis and the rest of the group! I am here so we’ll be fine!!”

She couldn’t understand it herself. Riko didn’t feel like she was the most reliable person, but she couldn’t back down either after saying something like that. She knew this was the time to stay strong, putting herself down would only make things worse. 

“Y-Yes…” Ruby wiped away her tears and gave Riko a confident nod. “Ruby will try her Rubesty!!”

“Yeah!!” Riko smiled at her. “I’ll do my Ri..besty?”

“Yeah!!”

But at that moment, neither of the girls had noticed the presence that had been following them closely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This time the chapter is out a day earlier! Since tomorrow is the release day of Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon chances are I might be too distracted all day and I thought updating a little earlier for a change would be nice!
> 
> I'm also hitting the 100k word count with this update, so I'm a little proud of myself for that!


	22. Heart of Glass - Part 2

As a bright red color slowly spread across the vast skies, gentle rays of sunlight descended upon the eerie flowers that covered the maze. A big part of the day had already passed by but it didn’t feel like that at all for the long haired girl with honey gold eyes. It may have been because she had stayed active all day, moving onward across the maze, or because her thoughts had been occupied by many different worries. Worries about what she was doing right now, worries about what she would do after this was over. The stress that piled up on her somehow helped her not to think as much about this situation. 

That being said, it wasn’t exactly the same for the girl that walked with her. Ruby had started up with a lot of energy and enthusiasm. She had been set on definitely finding the other girls no matter what. But things hadn’t turned out so easily. Despite the sound of their footsteps, the howling wind, and the birds that would occasionally fly up high above, there had been a lot of silence. There was no trace of the other girls being around at all. 

“I wonder…” Riko sighed out loud as she stared at the tall walls that surrounded them.

“Hm?”

“This is really supposed to be a maze, isn’t it?”

Ruby still couldn’t catch up on Riko’s train of thought at all, so she tilted her head, staring at her confused. 

“When you think about navigating something like a maze, the most common reason people get lost or can’t find a way out would be because they end up encountering a lot of dead ends, isn’t it?”

Ruby replied with two nods. She was already starting to catch on but allowed Riko to continue speaking. 

“But we haven’t found any dead ends at all. Does this mean we are going on the right track by chance or…?”

“Ruby isn’t sure.” The red pigtail girl remembered something. She was scared to think about it but decided to let Riko know anyway. “But sis mentioned the maze constantly changing.”

“So either we have been walking in circles nonstop or got lucky enough to keep going on a clear path to the exit.”

“Yeah…” Ruby replied with a deflated tone and looked down to the floor. 

Even if she wanted to believe that the later was happening, it sounded like a really impossible alternative. Thinking about having walked in circles nonstop like this stressed her out. That meant that no matter how much they progressed, they weren’t really progressing at all. And if the place was constantly changing not only would they be unable to find the exit, but they wouldn’t be able to find the entrance again either. 

This specially worried Ruby because it wasn’t the same like getting lost in a forest or a jungle where you would recognize the same path and realize you had been walking in circles. Not only was the place constantly changing, but the walls looked the exact same no matter where they were, and the flowers never took any damage no matter how much you stepped on them either. 

“Hmm…” 

Riko came to a sudden stop. She had started to overthink things just as much as Ruby had been just now, so she wanted to take a moment before moving onward blindly again.

“Let’s see, you said that there is no way for you to use alchemy on these walls, correct?”

“Ruby can’t understand what material was used to make them, so it won’t work.” 

“What about the flowers? Can you use the flowers to make something like a landmark?”

“Ruby will try!!”

The pigtail girl nodded and rapidly kneeled down. She stared intently at the flowers before her. They had a dark purple color and they were almost black. However, looking at them closely, they had a tiny silver patch close to the petals that connected to the center. Ruby took off her gloves and reached for the flower. Once her fingers made direct contact with the petals she could immediately tell that something was off. They didn’t feel like a flower. By looking at them anyone would imagine they would be soft and delicate, but that wasn’t the case. The petals of these flowers were hard and solid, possibly even harder than diamonds. But this is exactly why something wasn’t right, if they were so hard, why wasn’t she able to tell as she stepped on them all this time?

Riko couldn’t do anything but observe Ruby who stared intently at the flower with a frown. 

Still curious and confused, Ruby reluctantly plucked off the flower, which came off the ground with relative ease. 

“Is something wrong?” 

Riko finally asked. Ruby’s silence was making her grow uneasy. 

“Ruby doesn’t understand.”

“?”

“These look like flowers, but Ruby doesn’t think they are flowers, they don’t have the same composition.”

“They… aren’t flowers…?”

“Here, try to touch it.” 

While holding the _flower_ in her hands, Ruby moved it closer to Riko who poked it with her finger. However, Riko was not able to feel the strange stiffness of the petals. Instead, what she felt that at that moment was…

“?!”

The long haired girl remained speechless for a few seconds. She wasn’t able to process what happened but she was soon able to tell what the sensation she felt was. It was pain.

The petal that Riko poked had opened up like a mouth. It happened so fast that they were not able to see but there were tiny little fangs coming out of it, all which buried into Riko’s finger in an instant. 

She let out a scream once her body registered the pain and her thoughts caught up with what happened. Riko started to swing her arm across the air desperately, trying to get the flower off but it only sank its fangs deeper into her skin. On her desperate attempt, Riko released a burst of wind from her fingertips, completely tearing apart the flower from the inside. The moment she did this, the flower dissipated into sand. 

That’s when Ruby was able to realize something; it was the same as when you defeat a monster. This made the identity of the flower much clearer, but… looking at everything that surrounded her, there were hundreds and hundreds of flowers spread all across the field. Looking at her own feet, she was stepping on top of those flowers this very instant.

“A-Are you okay?!” The pigtail girl finally reacted, looking at Riko who stared at her finger with teary eyes.

“W-W-W-What was that?!?!”

“Ruby doesn’t know… Sis never said anything about this happening before…”

The red pigtail girl reached for her pockets and retrieved a band aid from a small box. Looking at Riko’s finger, thankfully there wasn’t any blood, but there were really clear bite marks. Realizing something like this happened because of touching the single petal of a flower scared Ruby. But realizing that she had been touching that very same petal not long ago scared her even more. 

After Ruby placed the band aid, Riko closed and opened her fist, making sure she could still move her hand properly.

“T-Those aren’t poisonous, are they?” Riko’s voice trembled. She was having a really hard time recovering from what just happened.

“R-Ruby doesn’t know, but Ruby is sure they aren’t!!” 

She was trying her best to make Riko feel better but deep inside Ruby was freaking out just as bad.

“Y-You don’t know but you are sure?!”

“R-Ruby is sorry!! But it will be okay, you will see!!”

“I hope so…”

At that point, Riko couldn’t tell if she was feeling dizzy because of how anxious she was about this situation, or if she was feeling dizzy because there was some kind of poison inside the flowers after all. It started to snowball into a cycle where she felt worse by overthinking which led her to overthink things even more. 

Without realizing what she was doing, she started walking forward across the maze really fast. She didn’t want to stand around that spot anymore and part of her felt that maybe she would reach the exit if she did this. Ruby was quick to follow after her, she tried calling out to Riko a few times, but there was no response. Riko was too busy drowning in her own thoughts. 

While Riko was distracted, thinking about the wellbeing of her body and whether or not she would make it to the end like this, Ruby’s thoughts were driven somewhere else. After all, she was able to come in contact with that flower. Living things and objects are both very important things for an alchemist. As an alchemist it’s not difficult to feel the essence of something. In that case if the flower was truly a monster, she should have been able to tell right away. Even as they walked forward, she was not able to sense anything from all the flowers that spread across this field. And even as they moved onward, nothing was happening at all. 

In a way that brought Ruby relief, but on the other hand, nothing happening only made things worse. Nothing happening only felt like the calm before the storm. It only made her feel like something would jump at her at any second. Ruby could feel her hands growing cold and her heart beating fast with anticipation. She continued to follow Riko who was almost running across the maze, but above all Ruby’s attention was mostly focused on the flowers. 

Was the flower really a monster? Was this a field full of monsters? Or was that just one single monster mixed between all the flowers? Ruby thought it was logical to assume the flower reacted because of being plucked, but she rapidly noticed something else that may have been responsible. The sun was already starting to go down, and the red shade of the sky was rapidly becoming a dark blue one. In that case… did the flowers _become monsters at night_? 

And while those thoughts filled her head, Ruby felt something touching her leg. It was similar to the sensation of a small bug.

“P-Pigyah!!!”

Ruby let out a squeal and jumped up startled. She felt like she was about to feel the sharp fangs of the flowers sink into her skin at any moment.

“W-W-What happened?!”

“R-R-R-Ruby’s leg!! T-T-T-There is something…!!”

“Eh?!”

Riko rapidly ran behind Ruby and kneeled down to look at her closely.

“Your leg? There’s nothing there.”

“E-Eh?”

Riko sighed in relief after confirming that nothing had happened after all. After hearing Riko say that, Ruby rapidly realized she didn’t feel anything anymore. 

“But… there was…”

Ruby didn’t feel anything anymore, but she couldn’t accept it so easily. She was certain she had felt something there. Was there really something after all? Was it her imagination?

“Don’t worry.” Riko gave her a sheepish smile. “If anything happens, I got your back!”

“T-Thank you…” Ruby sighed. 

The pigtail girl walked closer to Riko, so much that her shoulder was almost pressing against the long haired girl’s. Somehow, it made Ruby feel a little safer. Walking besides Riko like this, it also gave Ruby a nostalgic feeling. Maybe she was just overthinking things, but walking alongside someone that was there to protect her, it wasn’t the first time this happened. Most of the time, it was her sister and before that it was always…

“By the way, Ruby.” Riko who had finally managed to calm herself down a little, decided to initiate a conversation to take her thoughts away from what happened. But at the same time, she wanted to try and take care of other thoughts that still haunted her mind. “Why… do you want to go to Tokyo?”

“Hm? Ruby wants to go there and confirm what happened with µ's! It’s the place where it all began for them after all!”

“I get that but…” Riko still didn’t feel convinced. “µ's were all legendary heroes, right? In that case there might be information about them in many other places. We might find a lot of clues visiting some of the towns they saved.”

“…”

“So… why are we putting ourselves in danger by going to the most dangerous place of them all? Why not start somewhere else?”

“R…Ruby…”

“?”

“Ruby thinks… it has to be Tokyo… no matter what.”

“No matter what?”

“The last time Ruby saw mother… it was in Tokyo.”

“Huh?”

Riko could feel a cold sensation sinking into her gut when she heard Ruby mention this. Even if she didn’t understand the situation, she could tell right away that there was something terribly wrong going on here. She could tell that there was something she shouldn’t even ask about. Something she shouldn’t dig into any further. But there was something that bothered her a lot as well.

“Wait, wait a moment! But Dia said you all never managed to make it into Tokyo!!”

“Ruby… thinks sis doesn’t remember. It was a long time ago. Ruby doesn’t remember very well either, but Ruby knows it was definitely there.”

“Dia doesn’t remember?”

“Ruby doesn’t know.” The red pigtail girl shook her head. She paused for a moment before speaking. At that moment she felt like she was crossing a line, like she was giving out too much information which she had kept to herself all this time. But maybe, that was also why she spoke, because she didn’t want to keep it to herself anymore. “Ruby can tell, sis doesn’t recall a lot of things, like what happened then, and about our mother. And even Ruby doesn’t remember too well, but that is why… if we go there… if we go to Tokyo then…!!”

“I still don’t understand but…” Riko gave Ruby a smile. “If we go to Tokyo, then we can save your mother. Is that it?”

Ruby rapidly nodded twice. She had no words to say it, but she made it clear than that was her biggest intention above anything. Learning this, Riko felt like she had to steel herself with much more resolve. It was true that Ruby didn’t give her enough information; it was true that she didn’t know if they could do anything at all once they arrived there, but this changed everything. 

It changed everything so much that the long haired girl felt guilty. She had tagged along with everyone, but she had been upset about it deep inside. She didn’t understand why someone so logical like Dia had agreed to such a reckless adventure without so much of a plan. But this put that choice of hers into a new light. Whether Dia remembers what happened or not, maybe she was being driven by a bigger force to go there. Maybe it was the same for all the other girls, maybe they all had different reasons she just hadn’t learned yet. Maybe there was more to this situation than she thought at first. 

In that case, backing down was not an option anymore. In that case, no matter what awaited her there, even if this was all a cruel joke by destiny, she couldn’t keep going with such a weak resolve. After having experienced firsthand the fate of the people that fought to protect Chika and everyone else, allowing them all to escape, there was something Riko was certain about, she wouldn’t run away anymore. 

“In that case don’t worry!” Riko nodded. “We will get to Tokyo and save her together!!”

Ruby once again replied with a nod, smiling back at Riko. At that moment she felt like they would surely succeed. At that moment she felt like nothing could stop her.

_“Are you going to Tokyo?”_

A voice spoke. It was a squeaky yet eerie voice. 

The two girls came to a sudden halt the moment it reached them. Riko instinctively pulled Ruby closer, ready to protect her. With only the light of the moon to illuminate their path forward, it was difficult to take a good look at their surroundings. However, the voice spoke once again.

_“Are you going? Are you? Hey, tell me. Are you going?”_

This time the voice felt a lot closer to them. This time it wasn’t a single voice but a lot of voices speaking at once altogether. The voices came from below, from the flowers. The moment they looked down at the plants, they all had opened their petals revealing their sharp fangs.

Riko launched a kick forward, shooting up a blast of wind to knock some flowers away and open a path. Holding Ruby by her wrist, she started to run at full speed, constantly using her magic to try and keep the flowers away. However, just like how flowers would regenerate if you stepped on them, all the flowers that were blown away instantly grew back up. They all continued to speak, asking the same question while others simply started to laugh. 

The long haired girl felt like she was trapped inside a nightmare as she tried her absolute best in order to escape this situation. She held Ruby’s wrist even tighter, she had to make sure they wouldn’t get separated no matter what or it would be a horrible situation for them. But the flowers would rapidly become the least of her worries. As she ran forward, the walls behind her suddenly started moving. 

The walls moved with a swift and silent movement, at first Riko had not even noticed it but she was startled once she heard the sound of the walls colliding against each other. The walls started to slam against each other, missing them by centimeters. If they stopped running for even a second, they would be crushed between the walls. 

Riko couldn’t tell if it was a good thing or if it made this experience even more horrible, but, as the walls collided against each other, they crushed the flowers below, making the flowers let out screams of agony that echoed across the maze. 

“W-W-W-W-What do we do?!?!” 

Ruby screamed as she followed behind Riko. She had grown so nervous she couldn’t feel her body anymore. Everything around her had become blurry and the only thing she could see was the long haired girl’s back.

“I don’t know!! But for now let’s try and get away from--!! Ahhhhhh!!”

Riko let out a loud yell before she could finish her sentence. Petals from the flowers in front of her had grown in size and enveloped her ankle, sinking their fangs into her skin. Because of that, she kneeled over, almost falling to the ground and found herself unable to move. She was trying to shake them off her leg, but that’s when she saw a large wall coming at her at a high speed. Riko extended out her arm, letting out a burst of wind, but the attack was absorbed by the wall and rendered useless. 

She tried to reach for her Love Gem but remembered it was still blacked out from the last time she used it, and she was aware Ruby’s Love Gem was the same, since it was the one Hanamaru used previously to heal them from the strange black aura. In this case, all she could do was…

“Ruby!! Run!!!” Riko closed her eyes tightly; she realized there wasn’t anything else she could do in this situation. 

“No!!” Ruby yelled. Her voice was trembling but it was also full of determination. “Ruby will not run!!”

Unlike Dia, Ruby didn’t carry different gems to use alchemy with her since that was a much more advanced technique. Instead Ruby specialized in using the environment around her, making her abilities really limited at times like this. This is why with no other option, Ruby didn’t hesitate and took a reckless action. 

She didn’t know if it would work but there was only one way to find out. She swung her hand in front of her face, biting into her fingers strong enough to open a wound. After that, she immediately used the best material available to her in order to activate her alchemy: her own blood. She could feel her dizziness rising up fast as more blood was forcibly pulled out of her body, until it took the shape of a large and sturdy lance. 

Even if the lance still didn’t have enough power to destroy the walls, it was sturdy enough not to break as Ruby used it to stop both walls from crushing them completely. 

Riko slowly opened her eyes, realizing the impact she was waiting for never came. Looking at Ruby’s hand and at the color of the lance that was stopping both walls, Riko could instantly tell what happened. She released a burst of wind to destroy the plants that had caught into her leg. She knew Ruby’s lance wouldn’t hold for much longer so she reached for Ruby, pushing her away from danger. 

Since the walls behind them had already fallen, they walked back and stepped into the rubble. Riko was limping due to the damage to her leg and Ruby felt like she could pass out at any moment but both had managed to escape immediate danger, and thanks to the pile of rubble beneath them, they were safe from the flowers as well.

“A-Are you okay?” Riko asked. She could tell Ruby looked really pale and her hands had grown much colder. 

Ruby replied with a simple nod, sitting down to try and get some rest.

The long haired girl still couldn’t understand what happened at all. When she looked around, it looked like most of the maze was still up and only part of it had collapsed like this. But when she turned around to look behind her, there were no walls anymore. There was only a vast desolate land with the large peak of Mt. Fuji spreading in the distance. They had found a way out of the maze after all.

“We… did it?” Riko asked, still in disbelief.

“R…Ruby…Ruby knew we could do it!!”

“We did it!!”

_“Are you sure you did?”_

A new sudden voice made both girls jump up to their feet. It was a voice Riko had heard at least once before. In the end, she didn’t need to think too much to remember whose voice it was, that was because someone had appeared right in front of them. 

It was a girl with violet eyes, and hair of the same color tied up in pigtails. It was the same person who had taken Seira with her at the very last moment, along with the remaining power that kept the sea of trees alive. 

“Ria from Saint Snow?!” 

Riko was quick to recognize her. Not only had the last events left an impact on her but that strong, piercing gaze was unmistakable.

Riko slowly pushed Ruby back and walked forward. Even with her leg in pain, she knew this wasn’t someone that was going to let her take it easy and relax. The long haired girl took a battle stance while being extremely wary of something happening at any moment.

“I don’t believe fighting me is in your best interest right now.”

“Huh?”

“You made it out of my castle, but what about your friends?”

“If we made it out Chika and the others will definitely-!!”

“You still don’t understand the situation you are in, so let me demonstrate for you.” 

Having said this, Ria extended out her hand while pointing at the walls of what remained of the maze behind them. Then she clenched her fist and as if following her motion, two walls ran into each other and collapsed.

“?!” 

Riko and Ruby were both speechless. Up until now the strange maze seemed to be a strange location that had appeared out of nowhere. While it’s true that it was a dangerous place, it felt more like being stuck in the forest or a natural location. However, what happened just now changed everything. The entire maze, the flowers, it was all made of magic. It had all come from this person. 

“Now that you understand, give up.” Ria spoke with a cold, emotionless voice. “Don’t go to Tokyo.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've reached 100 comments!! It makes me really happy to reach these kind of milestones. Once again I want to thank you for your support, you guys are great!!


	23. Heart of Glass - Part 3

_Don’t go to Tokyo?_ Ria’s warning resonated deep inside Riko’s head. This was the last thing she wanted to hear in this kind of situation. She had been against going to Tokyo for so long but right after steeling herself, right after gaining a motive to go, she was being forced to stop? 

“What do you mean?!” The long haired girl asked desperately. She feared the answer she would get, but she had to face this situation head on. 

“It is just as I said.” Ria stated. “Don’t go to Tokyo.”

Riko didn’t have any words to reply to this statement. She clenched her fists and stared at Ruby who was looking at this situation speechless as well. Even if Ruby wasn’t saying anything, she could clearly see the shock in her eyes. Riko knew this made her face a very difficult decision. If they turned back and didn’t go to Tokyo, not only would she betray Ruby who wanted to save her mother, but she would betray everyone else’s wishes, yet, if she didn’t back down then Ria had the power to get rid of everyone in an instant. In that case… was that the best option? To give up?

“Fine th-”

“Why?” Ruby’s shaky voice interrupted Riko. It was a small voice that was ready to break apart at any moment, yet it carried so much emotion it drove everyone’s attention towards her. At this point Ruby was not even thinking anymore, she was just letting her emotions take control and carry out her actions. “Why are you doing this? Why are you stopping us?”

“You don’t need to kno-”

“Answer me!” Ruby raised her voice this time. “Why are you insisting on getting in our way?!” 

“Tch.” Ria clicked her tongue and whispered under her breath. “You are the one getting in the way.”

“Hold on.” Riko decided to step in as well. “Ruby has a point. If you will demand something out of us, at least tell us your objective.”

Riko was well aware that this may be leading nowhere, after all, compared to this girl even the other member of Saint Snow she had encountered before came off as someone easier to communicate to. She knew it was leading nowhere but, maybe if she could delay this for a little longer, maybe if she just tried a little harder, she could come up with something. 

“Do you have no shame?” Ria spoke at Riko, her voice was as cold as ever and her piercing stare looked deep into her eyes.

“Huh?” 

“Why are you acting like you are in a position to ask information from me? I don’t want to hear that from someone who is hiding important information even from her “friends.” Isn’t that right, _princess_?

( _Hiding important information?_ )

The same thought resonated inside both Riko and Ruby’s head at the same time. A thought that carried different weight for both of them. From Ruby’s perspective, she never imagined that Riko was hiding any information from them. Even though she was well aware of her status as princess, she had learned that Riko had lost her memories, that she had no idea how did she end up here and with this group. 

For Ruby, that was something she accepted right away. This is why, after coming here, she had told a lot of important things to Riko. A lot of things she didn’t have the courage to tell anyone else. She knew that it would be okay to trust her, it would be okay but… then… why wasn’t Riko answering? Why wasn’t she saying anything? Why wasn’t she denying it?

The red pigtail girl stared intently at Riko. She felt something heavy tugging at her heart. She couldn’t even say anything but she stared at her as if begging her to deny it, as if begging her to say _something._

“…”

But Riko had no response. 

She simply clenched her fists and looked at the ground with a pained expression. She did not even have the courage to look at Ruby, or to defy Ria anymore. To anyone else that may have been a ridiculous accusation. It wouldn’t have meant anything to anyone else. But to Riko, it carried much more weight than Ruby could ever imagine. 

“See?” Ria spoke, this time with a much more mocking tone. “You are a hypocrite. How about you stop pretending to play hero with all these innocent girls and reveal your true colors? You are acting like you are trying to help when you are actually driving them to their deaths.”

“You don’t know anythin-”

Riko was finally trying to speak up. If she didn’t do this now, the situation would just end up getting worse and worse. But Ria wouldn’t be so kind. She interrupted her right away, going straight for one of Riko’s most fragile points. Going straight for something she wished she wouldn’t bring up.

“I don’t know anything? Then tell me, whose fault was it that Tsubasa ended up destroying the village of Uchiura?”

Riko’s body tensed up, once again, she had no words to respond with. 

“If you hadn’t decided to escape there, then none of this would have happened. That was all your fault.”

“I-“

“But that’s not all, is it? After all, that is something all your “friends” already know. I wouldn’t be surprised if deep inside they blamed you for it.”

(What is going on?) 

Ruby was rapidly growing more and more confused. She was growing more and more nervous. She hadn’t been there when the incident at Uchiura happened, but it was a nostalgic name for her. Even if her memories of the place were faint, that was where she and Dia had used to live for a short while. It was where the Kurosawa family had grown up. This is why even if she may not have known much about the place, it was still her birthplace. It was still an important place for her sister, for her family, for so much people. 

This is why Ruby was shocked the moment she learned about what happened there. She was shocked to know the entire place had been burnt into a crisp and that the only people who managed to escape were Chika, You and Kanan. Ruby could not even begin to imagine how that felt like. At the moment she was too worried thinking about that to realize something strange about that story. 

It had all begun the day the princess arrived. It had all begun because someone incredibly powerful had followed her, because they wanted to secure her and bring her back at all costs. Ruby knew it was wrong to think this way. This simple thought made her drown in guilt: what if it really was Riko’s fault? What if Riko never escaped and tried to hide in Uchiura? Then maybe everyone else would still be safe. Then maybe everyone else would still be happy. Then maybe Chika, You and Kanan wouldn’t have to go through this.

Then maybe… no. Ruby stopped her mind from running wild immediately. She couldn’t allow her train of thought to keep running like this any longer. She couldn’t allow this to keep going any longer. After all, she couldn’t let her cry like this anymore. That’s what snapped Ruby out of it. There were no words coming out of Riko’s mouth. There were only sobs as tears started streaming down her face. No matter what the circumstance was, there was something Ruby had learned from her sister, something she was willing to do no matter what, she wouldn’t let anyone else cry and feel abandoned. 

“T-That doesn’t matter.” Ruby stepped forward. Her voice was shaking, but it also sounded full of anger. “Ruby is sure Riko has her reasons, so stop saying things like that!!”

“What? Did you not listen to any word I said?”

“And Ruby said that doesn’t matter!!” Ruby clenched her fist and stepped forward. “If you still insist on keeping this up, then Ruby will put a stop to it!!”

“Did you forget already?” Ria laughed. “You are in no place to defy me either. I have no intention to fight you and I have no problems with crushing everyone, including your sister.”

Having said this, Ria closed her right fist, making two more walls from the giant maze behind them to crash against each other with full force. The disturbing noise of the talking flowers being crushed by the walls, as well the echoing noise of the impact made Ruby feel like she was about to faint at any moment. She couldn’t take this anymore, but she wouldn’t back down either, not so easily.

“I told you.” Ruby gave a step forward with her trembling legs, and another one, and another one, until she started to sprint towards Ria. “Ruby will put a stop to this!!”

“Ruby, wait!!” 

Riko called out to her but it was too late. The distance between them and Ria wasn’t big enough in the first place. Ruby reached her in an instant, taking hold of the girl’s hands.

“Tch!” 

Ria glared at the red pigtail girl, however, she was not able to use her magic as intended. Ruby could tell she looked furious, but she could also tell her gamble worked. 

“Ruby told you.” She spoke at her, looking directly into her eyes. “Ruby will stop you.”

“Y-You-”

Ruby didn’t even need to explain to her, she could tell she had seen through her magic incredibly fast. At that moment, Ruby’s hands were intertwined with hers, and thus, she was unable to complete the motion she needed to command the maze: to close her hand into a fist.

“Let go of me!! You don’t know what you are doing!! If I let you go to Tokyo then-!!”

“Ruby knows she has to stop you!!” 

Ria screamed, using all her strength to try and push Ruby back but Ruby wouldn’t let go. Instead, Ruby only made her grasp tighter, burying her fingers into the girl’s hand. She started to put a lot of force, slowly pushing her back. 

The purple pigtail girl looked visible shocked the moment this happened. She couldn’t believe the person that she had judged to be the weakest in the group was gaining on her like this. At this rate she might even be defeated without putting up much of a fight, but she wouldn’t allow that. Riko felt a strange fear resound inside her the moment her eyes met with Ria’s face. Despite Ruby gaining on her, a smirk formed on Ria’s face. 

“Get away!!” 

Ruby could hear Riko’s voice screaming. 

She couldn’t understand why, or what happened, but Ruby was suddenly pushed to the side, forcing her to let go of Ria. At that moment a large thorn-like spike shot forward from the palm of Ria’s hands. Riko had managed to take Ruby away from the danger zone but the spike stabbed into her arm, making her let out a scream of pain.

Ruby opened her eyes wide in shock but she wasn’t given any time to go and tend at her friend. The moment Ruby let go was all Ria needed to go ahead and finish was she promised. With the motion of her fist closing, all the walls in the maze started to move at the same time, crashing into each other at the center. The very earth trembled and the disturbing sound of crashing walls resounded through the night. 

Riko and Ruby both remained speechless. They had instantly lost their will to fight. They didn’t even want to look and see what happened. The noise alone was enough to tell them. But even so, both slowly turned their heads behind them, only to see the worst scene that could have been awaiting them. 

There was no trace of the maze anymore. There was no trace of the flower field that covered the place. There was no trace of anyone at all. All that remained was a pile of rubble at the center of a vast empty field. All that remained were the signs that everything had been destroyed. 

“I warned you.” Ria spoke in a somber voice. “You have no one to blame but yourself.”

Having said that, vines shot from underground, surrounding Ria’s body until she couldn’t be seen anymore, and then, they dissipated into leaves along with her. Just like that, she was gone. She had already fulfilled her goal after all, that was all there was to it.

“It… can’t be.” 

Riko fell down to her knees. She did not even feel any pain despite the wound in her arm and the blood flowing out of her.

Ruby was so shocked she could not even let any tears out, she did not even have the energy to cry anymore. Is this how it ends? Is everyone gone? Is her sister gone? 

The silence of the night enveloped them along with the somber cold wind. Everything felt unreal. This couldn’t be happening. This couldn’t have happened.

“Ruby.” Riko whispered as her voice started to break down. “I’m sorr-”

And yet, even now, something unexpected happened, something that none of them could have foreseen.  
A massive blast of fire shot up from below the ground like an exploding volcano. It was a bright red and black fire that shot up all the way up high into the heavens. 

The light of the fire completely illuminated the dark night and the heat waves were powerful enough to reach them. Looking at the scene before them, Riko and Ruby felt like they were watching something surreal, out of a dream. And as the fire dissipated, a girl stood in the center. It was the blue haired bun girl. She was surrounded by a powerful black smoke that swirled around her and large wings that spread behind her back.

And then, the fire started running behind her along with the black smoke, as though it was being swallowed up by something. Once the fire dissipated they could get a clearer view of the scene before them. Their eyes opened wide as they saw a group of girls standing just behind Yohane. The first one Riko was able to notice was Chika who was standing in the direction where all the fire got sucked into.

Chika looked exhausted and You who stood next to her helped her keep her balance. 

“Kukuku.” Yohane laughed. It was a much deeper, somber voice. “As I thought, not even these walls would be able to resist the true fire of hell-” 

“That’s enough, zura.” 

Hanamaru who was standing just next to her pulled off the feather on top of her bun. Just as if a light switch had been flipped off, the wings behind her back disappeared and her voice changed.

“Z-Zuramaru how dare you!!” 

A wall then flew up into the air and two more girls walked from under the rubble. They were Kanan and Mari. 

“Ugh.” Kanan complained as she stood up. She swung her arms in the air now that they were free from the weight of the wall she had been holding up. In fact she was the one that hurled it away just now as well. “I can’t believe that just happened.”

“Whoa!” Mari looked around at the destroyed structure all around them. “Now that was _dangerous!_ ”

“Hmph.” Dia sighed. “At least we are out of there now.”

The group of girls all stood at the center of the ruins. Their bodies were tattered and full of dirt but they had managed to make it alive from that sudden attack that tried to crush them all at once. At the moment, they had not noticed Riko and Ruby who stood behind them, watching everything. 

The two girls were still speechless; it was as if the sense of relief hadn’t registered yet. But the moment Ruby’s eyes met with her older sister, everything changed. At that moment all the tears she had been repressing came out at once, and so, she called out to her sister while yelling at the top of her lungs.

Ruby’s voice resounded and echoed across the night. Her voice made everyone turn into her direction. The moment Dia’s eyes met with Ruby, she could feel her heart skip a beat. Without thinking it twice, she ran with all her might towards Ruby, giving her a warm embrace. 

Just like this, all the girls had reunited and they had overcome the obstacle in their path. 

Overcoming the enemy, growing stronger and moving onward. That’s how it had been so far. Riko remembered feeling relief once she left the forest. She was relieved once their group grew and there was a sense of accomplishment despite all they had gone through. In this case, Ria had gone away, everyone was safe and they could move onward, that should have been the end of that, but…

All Riko could listen to were the loud sounds of her own heartbeat. 

What happened after that? All sense of direction had left her. She couldn’t tell up or down apart, she couldn’t even tell if she was real or not. Did she pass out? Where was she right now?

Riko’s eyes opened wide. No, they had never been closed. All that happened were her senses slowly coming back. She found herself walking along with all the other girls in the middle of the night. They were about to reach a large city that was close by. 

So, was this… over? Was it really over? Riko felt a disturbing gap in her memories between the moment she saw all the girls escape and now. This was different than usual. She couldn’t shake away the feeling that they were still in danger. She couldn’t shake away the same exact feeling she had while navigating the maze. It was almost as if she was still inside. It was almost as if she had never escaped at all.

All she could feel right now was her heart beating fast, way faster than it had ever been. Riko gasped for air, placing her hand on her chest. For a second, she felt like she was drowning at the bottom of the sea.

“Riko!” A voice called her back to reality. She felt a warm grasp on her shoulder and then her eyes met with a pair of pink eyes looking directly into hers. “Are you okay?”

“Y-Yeah.” Riko shook her head. “I’m fine!!”

“Hmm…” You stared at her suspiciously. “Are you sure?”

Riko replied with a simple nod. 

As the group continued walking forward, Ruby couldn’t help but stare at Riko as she followed behind. This time there were way too many things inside Ruby’s mind. Now that they weren’t in immediate danger anymore her thoughts were haunting her again. But between those thoughts, there was something that bothered her the most. It was the words Ria mentioned. 

_You don’t know what you are doing!! If I let you go to Tokyo then-!!”_

Despite how cold Ria usually was, at that very moment, if only for an instant, Ruby could feel something different coming out of her voice. She could feel a hint of something desperate behind her words. That is why Ruby had interrupted her. Because she thought she had to, no matter what. Because she thought that if she let her finish speaking, she would break her spirit. At the moment it didn’t feel like anything big, but this was enough to leave a really big impression with Ruby. She felt like there were many dots floating around she had to connect, but she didn’t know how. It felt like having a puzzle with many missing pieces.

And on top of that, was it okay to trust Riko? Ruby knew the answer to this was: yes. She knew that was the most logical conclusion, it was the best choice to make right now and yet for just a moment, she felt as though she should listen and stop everyone from going to Tokyo. 

But it was too late. As Ruby walked together with the group, they walked into the large city of Hakone. If they had arrived all the way here there was no way she could make them turn back. 

And at the same time, Dia couldn’t help but to feel concerned about Ruby. She knew her sister was someone that always did her best and took things seriously. She knew Ruby liked to work hard but whenever things got too rough it wasn’t unusual for Ruby to ask for help, yet, this time she wasn’t saying anything. After they reunited, neither Ruby nor Riko had said anything at all about the situation. Neither of them gave them a real explanation of what happened but it was clear to everyone that the two had a rougher time than what they thought at first. 

Hakone? What was that place like? How long was it since they arrived here?

There was another gap in Riko’s memory. 

Where was she right now? Where did everyone go?

A familiar image spread before her, a frightening image. There was a long stairway that spread towards the bottom of an abyss. On the other side, there was only the vast sky. The sound of a raging storm resounded as thunder continuously fell all around. The somber winds carried the desperate cries of a single girl with them. And when she looked at her hands, they were all covered in blood that dripped into the floor. 

Riko let out a yell, waking up startled. This was… a small wooden room. The place was empty except for a dimly lit light on top of the room. Once Riko looked around her arm was bandaged and the stinging pain of where she was stabbed by Ria snapped her wide awake. Even if she had come to her senses now, there was still a strange gap in her memory. She had the feeling she was finally at Hakone with everyone else, but she had no way to confirm it. 

She was awake now, but she still felt uneasy. She felt like there was something applying a lot of pressure over her body, like she couldn’t breathe properly. Riko rapidly stood up while cold sweat rolled down her forehead. She felt lightheaded, but above all, she didn’t feel safe. She didn’t know why, but something told her she had to find someone. Something told her she shouldn’t be alone at a time like this.

Slowly making the way out of the room where she was, Riko was met with a very large hall. It was a very wide room that didn’t look like the room of a hotel at all. Where was she? Where was everyone else? Even as she walked, she only felt like she was rapidly running out of breath more and more. But if there was a bedroom here, maybe trying out any of the doors around this hall would work. Maybe some of the other girls were there.

☆

“Ria.” The voice of a sister called out to the purple pigtail girl. “Where were you?”

“I was taking care of things.” 

“So she really tried to go back to Tokyo after all, huh?”

“It’s okay.” Ria nodded. “If we can’t stop her from going to Tokyo, then we just have to make sure that she doesn’t make it all.”

“Did you infect her with heart glass?”

☆

Riko continued to walk across the large room. She finally reached the closest door, beyond this door there might be someone. Something was screaming at her to reach out to someone, and she didn’t know why. But the moment her fists reached for the door, a powerful pain enveloped her body.

Riko started to cough, holding her chest tightly with her right hand. She felt her breathing coming to a stop as she felt the pain of something stabbing into her heart, making her collapse cold into the floor. 

 

“Huh?”

Chika stared at the door of her room confused. She had the feeling she heard something coming from the other side, but thanks to being exhausted, she fell back asleep in an instant.

☆

“It’s unfortunate.” The sister sighed as she spoke to Ria. “Looks like this is where the princess drops out. I didn’t want it to get to this, but we don’t have a choice.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the late update! I had a big exam today so that is why I had to delay it more than usual. 
> 
> When it comes to this arc, I tried to take a slightly different approach than usual. When I write Riko I like changing the narrative a bit and focus more on expressing her emotions and going deeper into her thoughts, but it seems like I ended up doing that a little bit with Ruby as well. I hope I managed to convey that properly, and I hope you are enjoying the story so far!


	24. Self Control - Part 1

Falling snow. Never ending snow. Just like that, it was always the same. No matter how many days passed by, it was always the same. No matter how many times she tried, it was always the same.

_Who's my enemy? My enemy is the shadow of my weak self._

The violet color of a young girl’s eyes reflected on the window as she stared at the falling snow once more. Today again, it was the same, her younger sister wouldn’t wake up. A younger Seira sat inside a small wooden cottage, despite it being so cold, she had nothing to warm herself up with but a pair of old gloves. However she was using her gloves to try and keep her sister warm instead. The little girl with purple hair lied on top of an old makeshift bed that was made by putting a lot of cardboards together and covering it with an old blanket. 

Looking at her sister like this, Seira thought she looked like a doll. It was quite the somber thought that she wanted to drive out of her head, this was because in a sense, her sister had truly become a doll. Despite looking so peacefully, it wasn’t like she was sleeping. She wasn’t breathing anymore, she had no pulse and her heart had stopped beating. It was as if she was dead. 

Seira refused to accept that. Even if everything pointed out towards the inevitable having happened, there was something strange, something different. She still had the warmth of life in her. Just placing her hand over her forehead or touching her hands, she was still warm, no matter how many days passed. Even if it was delusional, Seira decided to cling unto that, she decided it was more than enough not to give up. She wouldn’t give up on her sister’s life no matter what. That’s what she wanted to believe, but it wouldn’t be so easy. 

The more the days continued passing by, the more her hope would slowly start to fade away. No matter how many days passed by, it was always the same. And no matter how much she screamed or tried asking for help, it wouldn’t matter. There was no one there that could hear her. There was no one there that could help her. 

They had been left all alone. 

A massacre had hit the town where the Kazuno sisters lived. But they hadn’t been left alone because everyone was killed or because their parents died protecting them. 

They had been abandoned.

The day the massacre hit the town, no one stood their ground to fight. Everyone fled for their lives. 

What she felt at that time, what she experienced, it was all so vivid in her head even now.

 

She had been woken up in the middle of the night by her sister. The first thing Seira saw when she opened her eyes were tears streaming down her face. Ria was scared, she was still very young and she didn’t understand what was going on. 

Screams of terror fading away in the distance. 

Burning flames engulfing the canvas of falling snow. 

A torrent of lightning descending from the shattering skies. 

Fear that froze up her heart to the very core.

At that moment, Seira could not react. She could not even say a single word. All she could do was to embrace her sister and close her eyes as tightly as she could. 

After that, it was all over as sudden as it had begun. 

The moment her eyes opened once again, it was the start of the new day. There was nothing but silence covering the town of falling snow. She couldn’t remember what happened after closing her eyes at that moment. She didn’t know for how long she had been unconscious. But there was one thing she could tell immediately, her sister was gone. 

Seira jumped up to her feet, looking around the room. She was able to notice there was a crack in the windows. Then something small and soft touched her skin. It was snow. When she looked up, she noticed most of the ceiling was gone. Snow had continued to descend, it had fallen enough to fill a big part of the room with it. As her senses returned to her she realized that half of her body had been buried deep into snow. 

Not even being able to move at all, she started clawing away as much snow as she could. She desperately tried to get herself free and once she did, a somber realization hit her. If she had been buried like this, then her sister was…

Without hesitation, despite how much her body was freezing up, she reached for the snow, digging up as much as she could with her hands. She desperately pulled away the snow and just as she expected, her little sister was buried deep inside. 

“Ria?!” She called out to her, rapidly pulling her out and carrying her to the bed. “Ria?! Please wake up!!”

But her words couldn’t reach her anymore. Her sister didn’t wake up. 

Still being very young, Seira had no idea of what to do or how to tend to her sister. Screaming for help, she ran outside her room to look for her parents but there wasn’t anyone that could help her. 

Everyone was gone.

The only thing waiting for her was a desolate landscape with the heavy traces of destruction all over it. What had once been a peaceful town in a land of snow was now a land of ruin. Only the remains of chaos awaited her.

“Someone!! Please!!”

Seira screamed. She ran across the town trying to reach someone. She ran across that destroyed landscape, moving past the remains of the houses of everyone she had known, but no one ever came to her aid. The only response she got was the freezing howling wind that announced the start of the never ending days of loneliness. That was the moment her own heart broke down like glass.

With nowhere to go and no one to be there for her, Seira continued to live her days waiting for her sister to wake up. At first she had checked the remains of the town to try and look for food to survive, but that food would soon run out or go bad. With no other choice to survive, she had to learn to hunt wild animals for food, all while hoping that once she went back home, her sister would be waiting for her. But that never happened, her sister never woke up. She remained as always, in a doll like state. And just like this her hope rapidly faded away.

She couldn’t do it anymore. Seira fell on her back and collapsed on top of the snow in the middle of what once had been their town. She stared at the gray skies as the cold wind of winter ran across her body. There was only one thought in her mind after all this. 

_What is the point?_

What was she doing all this for? Why didn’t she give up just yet? No matter how much she wanted to believe that one day her sister would wake up, it all felt like she was lying to herself. It only felt like she had continued to spend her days here for nothing. This train of thought continued to cloud her head, snowballing into more and more negative thoughts. 

Maybe this is why she was abandoned, because her life didn’t mean anything in the first place. Maybe this is why she ended up in this kind of situation, because that’s what she deserved all along. Maybe this was the punishment she deserved for existing. Maybe existing was a mistake in the first place. Maybe… she should give up. 

It was enough. 

As snow continued to fall, she didn’t have the will to get up anymore. She continued staring at the skies as if looking for an answer that would never come. As her body became buried by a blanket of snow, everything gradually became darker and darker.

With nothing but the everlasting silence remaining, this is how the story of these two sisters ended. 

Or at least… that’s how it was supposed to end.

But despite her hope having died, despite living in the same repeating hell for so long, something did change.

It was early in the morning but the sun wasn’t out yet. Instead the skies were covered with a nostalgic shade of red. 

A really faint, distant noise slowly started to break apart the eternal silence that surrounded this snow wonderland. It was the noise of footsteps. In the distance, three figures became visible behind the raging blizzard that ran across this town. 

“It’s so coooold!” A girl complained. She was short and had emerald eyes. She was the leader of A-RISE. “Remind me why we are here again.”

“Why are you complaining? You are the one that said we should start here. Besides, we have an obligation to clean things up, we promised those girls after all.” 

The one who replied with a more serious tone was Erena. She was a tall girl with purple hair, green eyes and a tiny mole under her left eye. Despite her serious tone, she had a relaxed expression on her face and didn’t seem to mind the cold at all. 

“Hehehe. Tsubasa is really bad with cold weather, isn’t she?” 

The other girl spoke with a teasing tone. At first glance she looked like a princess. She had long brown hair with some falling over her chest and purple eyes. She had a really sweet voice and spoke in a sing-song manner.

All three girls wore a similar uniform-looking black outfit, with white gloves and a black hat, except for Erena who wore a headband instead.

“I know, I know.” Tsubasa sighed and then whispered under her breath. “Besides compared to what they are going through right now, this is nothing.”

“That being said.” Erena stopped walking for a moment to glance around at the place around them. “Don’t you think there’s something off about this place?”

“Hm?” 

The two other girls stared at her confused and then started looking around, paying better attention to their surroundings.

“Oh…” Tsubasa went silent before speaking again. “You are right this is…”

“?” 

Anju was the only one that hadn’t caught up yet but Tsubasa was quick to state it out loud.

“This is a town. Or… it used to be one.”

It was a little difficult to notice at first, this was because all the buildings had been completely buried down by snow. At the same time, the large piles of snow that spread all across the area were very unnatural. 

“What do you think happened here?” Erena walked towards the closest pile of snow, slightly swiping it away with her fingers until she reached what looked like a burnt down piece of wood. “Do you think it was a monster?”

“I thought we already took care of all the monsters, did any manage to escape? Hmph! If there’s any out there, they better get ready!” Anju looked fired up, almost like she was looking forward to finding more monsters.

“I don’t know.” Tsubasa scratched her head. “For starters, let’s take a better look without all this snow.”

Tsubasa cracked her hands and took a deep breath. All she had to do now was simple, she snapped her fingers. In an instant all the snow was instantly transported away somewhere, completely clearing out the town.

With this they were able to get a much clearer look. There was nothing but the remains of what was once a bright and colorful town. All the buildings had collapsed. Most of the vehicles were all destroyed and the trees had fallen down along with most electricity poles. Looking at the ground, there were signs of powerful impacts that had caused part of it to break down, most likely caused by falling thunder. The more they looked at the place, the stranger it was. It was as if devastation from multiple catastrophes had hit it at the same time. 

“Say, Tsubasa. I know it’s not possible… but...” Erena was afraid to finish her sentence. 

Looking at this scene there was something that scared the three of them, a possibility they wanted to disprove immediately, but the more they looked at the town the more the evidence pointed towards their fear.

“Yes.” Tsubasa clenched her fist. “It’s almost like Dark Matter was released here, in a really strong quantity at that.”

“Eh?!” Anju screamed startled. “But that’s not possible! Dark Matter should be-!”

“But it matches up perfectly.” Tsubasa didn’t want to admit it but she didn’t want to look away from the truth either. “Dark Matter can devour any kind of legendary power and… no, there is no way, but if it wasn’t Dark Matter then…”

“A Demon…?” Erena stated her conclusion out loud, even though just saying that made goose bumps spread across her skin.

“Wait, wait.” Anju stood in front of them, trying her best to sound cheerful and light up the situation a bit. “We still don’t know that for sure! How about we take a closer look? Maybe we’ll find someone who needs help!”

“Anju… I don’t think there’s anyone left her-”

“Anju is right.” Erena was quick to interrupt Tsubasa. She didn’t want to let her continue with a dangerous train of thought. “For now let’s take a look around, we won’t lose anything by investigating more.”

“Okay then.” Tsubasa finally agreed. “Let’s meet up here again in a few hours.”

With this, the three girls all went through separate ways into the destroyed town. 

“I know we were going to investigate but…” Tsubasa sighed. “This really isn’t looking good.”

No matter how deeper into the town she went, there wasn’t anything left in that town at all. No matter where she looked at, there was nothing but destruction left and right. It felt like there was no point in staying here any longer, at that moment Tsubasa thought about turning around and waiting where they all agreed to meet but something caught her attention. 

In the middle of this desolate place with no hope left, there was someone lying down on the floor. Tsubasa was fast to run in their direction. 

“Are you okay?” 

She asked as she held up the body of the girl with purple hair. The moment she touched her, Tsubasa was able to tell she was incredibly cold.

“Was this girl… buried under the snow?”

Not only that but her skin had gone almost blue, and she showed no signs of waking up. Tsubasa felt pain in her heart, she felt like she was too late. Knowing it would be useless, Tsubasa still decided to check on this girl, but to her surprise, her heart was still beating. Even if it was really faint, she still had a pulse. 

Tsubasa’s eyes opened wide. She knew she had to do something and fast. Holding the girl in her arms, she used her void to magic to quickly teleport to the place where Anju was.

“Wahhh!!” Anju screamed startled the moment Tsubasa appeared before her out of thin air. “I-I told you not to do that!!”

But Tsubasa didn’t have the time to apologize. There was a much bigger emergency right now.

“Please, help me.” Tsubasa looked desperately into Anju’s eyes. “This girl, she’s still alive.”

Anju was the main healer of their group. She had excellent abilities that had allowed A-RISE to survive through many hopeless situations, as well as to allow them to stand up even against their biggest rival. She concentrated on pouring her healing magic into Seira as much as she could. 

After a few minutes, Seira’s eyes slowly opened again.

What was happening? Was she still alive?

The last thing Seira remembered was giving up. The last thing she remembered was accepting this was the end. So then… why? 

“Mother?” Seira whispered without thinking. 

Her sight was still blurry and her senses were taking long before they could fully return to her.

“Tsubasa! She’s waking up!” 

Anju called out to the leader who seemed to be busy communicating with Erena. At first it looked like Tsubasa was just talking to the air, but in truth Erena was using her telepathic powers to communicate with her. Cutting the conversation short, Tsubasa ran back to where the girl who just woke up was. 

She placed a hand behind Seira’s back and gently helped her sit down. 

“How are you feeling?” She asked, quickly taking off her jacket and placing it on Seira.

“I…I…” 

The purple haired girl could not respond. As her senses returned to her, so did the memories of everything that happened up till now. She could feel her heart being crushed and she burst into tears calling out for help.

“Please… please please please please save her!!! Please!!” 

Seira screamed as tears continued to stream down her face. Soon she was unable to speak properly through her cries.

“It’s okay.” Tsubasa hugged her tightly. “I will do something about it.” 

She went ahead and made that kind of promise without even knowing the situation. At that moment she felt like that was the influence the leader of the legendary group had caused on her. Whatever the reason was, Tsubasa was not about to abandon someone like this. 

Anju kneeled down, looking at Seira in the eyes. She patted her head before speaking with a really gentle and sweet tone. 

“We are here to help you. Can you tell us what is going on?”

“M…My sister… she is… Ria is…”

Tsubasa and Anju stared at each other with a concerned look on their faces. They still didn’t understand the situation at all. They had managed to save this girl from a critical condition, but they knew there was no guarantee that the same could be said about their sister. Even with this weighting down on their hearts, Anju tried to reassure her while trying to get more information out of her. 

“What happened to your sister? Can you tell us where she is?”

It took some time before Seira could calm down, explain the situation and guide them to what remained of that small room, the place where her younger sister was.

Erena who had reunited with them stared at the girl who lied down on the bed. She then glanced at Tsubasa. Despite having telepathic powers, she didn’t need to use them in order to communicate, but she didn’t need to use words either. The three of them had already gone through so much together that they could easily understand each other. 

And this wasn’t the first time they had seen something like this. 

“Can you come with me for a bit?” Tsubasa held Seira’s arm slowly taking her away from the room. 

Confused Seira had no choice but to follow her. The other two girls looked at each other as Tsubasa walked away and then walked closer towards the girl who had become a doll.

“Anju.” Erena reached for Ria’s forehead and quickly realized there was still an unusual warmth coming out of her. “I am not an expert like you, but this is Heart Glass Syndrome, isn’t it?”

“Unfortunately, yes.” 

Anju couldn’t hide her saddened expression. She thoroughly examined the girl once more in order to make sure, but there was no doubt about it. She frowned and started to gather all her magic in the palm of her hands, and then she placed her hand on top of Ria’s chest, letting a powerful light flow into her body. 

Compared to the treatment she had given Seira earlier, this time she was letting a much bigger amount of magic to flow out. She silently concentrated, letting a massive glow of light surround Ria’s body, but it was no use. She wasn’t waking up at all. It was like if her body was completely rejecting the healing magic.

Suddenly, Anju came to a stop. She stared at the girl in silence before speaking. Despite always being the brightest one out of their group, this time she sounded both frustrated and sad.

“Are we going to fail again?”

“Anju...”

“Even after all this time, are we still not strong enough to save a single person?”

“No.” Erena rapidly interrupted her. “We can’t give up just yet.”

“But Erena this girl is already…”

“We’ve seen it once before, haven’t we? Someone recovering from this illness.”

“We have, but she is gone now, what are we-?”

“This girl, she is still fighting.” Erena closed her eyes and used her powers to try and connect with the girl despite her state. “It’s a really blurry, faint image, but she is still fighting.”

While the two members of A-RISE continued to discuss their options and try to figure out something, Tsubasa sat on the sand together with Seira. She had tried to take her mind away from this environment, and taken her to the coast where they could see the sea. 

Despite the cold temperature, the water wasn’t completely frozen over. Seira sat in silence staring at the waves of the sea that danced from side to side. As usual, the cold wind howled, but for the first time she didn’t feel cold thanks to Tsubasa’s jacket. And even if the sand would fly up everywhere, it was transported away somewhere the moment it approached them thanks to Tsubasa’s magic. 

It may have been a silly thought but for once, Seira felt safe. It was something she hadn’t felt for a really long time. For once, she felt like she wasn’t alone. This should have brought her happiness, but right now it was only bringing her pain. After all, she had come to accept the thought that she didn’t even deserve to be alive. So then… did she deserve this? Did she deserve to feel safe and happy?

But that wasn’t all. Above all, she thought that the one who truly deserved this was her sister. Even if she didn’t remember what happened, if she didn’t remember why her sister was like this, Seira couldn’t help but feel like it was her fault. Something deep inside her continued to tell her she was the reason her sister ended up like this in the first place. And this is why Seira couldn’t relax, she couldn’t accept this so easily. The one who should be here, being happy, was her sister, not her.

Her chest pounded with physical pain but despite how she felt she couldn’t even let tears out anymore. She was enveloped by an asphyxiating feeling that made the voice in her heart scream that she didn’t want to live anymore. 

“Are you worried about your sister?”

Tsubasa finally spoke up, trying to break the silence. She was being careful about not bringing up anything too harsh, but given how much this girl cared about her sister, maybe this was the best way to get her to speak up. 

Seira gave her a small nod, without saying a word.

“You know.” Tsubasa spoke as she stared at the bright morning skies. “You are just like a certain girl I met once.”

Seira simply listened to her speak even though at the time she had no idea why she said this, and she had no idea of the big importance there would be behind this story.

“She was always really confident and worked hard. Being the leader of the group, she always looked out for everyone. But you know, she really cared about her sister as well. Unfortunately, her sister fell ill once an epidemic broke out. It was a strong illness that cut the entire population of Tokyo in half, but despite that, she fought to the bitter end to save her sister.”

“Was she… able to save her in the end?”

Tsubasa remained quiet for a few seconds. She had soon realized she had said too much and instead, responded by making a promise.

A promise that would cost her more than anything she could have anticipated.

A promise that could change the fate of the world. 

“As long as I am here I will make sure your sister wakes up again, I promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again I'm sorry for the delay! I had a family medical emergency so I had to delay the update for one day once more. I'm glad I've still managed to keep my promise of weekly updates. Thinking about it, I think it would work better with my schedule if the updates were every Saturday instead of Friday, but either way works for me. Which one do you guys prefer?


	25. Self Control - Part 2

The sea breeze mixed with the freezing cold of that eternal winter. The radiant sun hid behind the clouds of a gloomy morning. The sea waves reflected in Seira’s eyes. She was lost in thought as she stared at them. They would rise up to great heights only for them to crash against the sea and be consumed by it. 

At that moment, she couldn’t help but realize: she was alive. The cold wind against her skin, the nostalgic smell of the sea, it all reminded her that she existed and despite everything, she was still here. Despite her not being able to find any words to reply to the person who spoke to her, Tsubasa’s words weighted heavily on her. Tsubasa had promised her that she would save her sister no matter what. 

After feeling so isolated for so long, after feeling so powerless for so long, a small ray of hope had finally reached her. Tsubasa’s words had truly touched Seira’s heart. 

She couldn’t help but stare at the sky in silence without being able to hold back tears. It was the same vast sky that was always there for her. Every single day, no matter how much things remained the same, Seira would find consolation in looking at the skies. Despite being surrounded by such a destroyed environment, despite remaining in the ruins of what was once a colorful city, that sky always made her feel like there was more to it. That sky reminded her that there was a world outside, that there were endless possibilities out there and that maybe one day, she would get to experience what that world was like. 

She knew there wasn’t anything stopping her from leaving that place and chase after those wild possibilities, but at the same, she couldn’t do it. No matter how many times she hit rock bottom, how many times she wanted to run as far away as possible and leave everything behind, she couldn’t leave her sister behind. She couldn’t abandon her. That’s what she had decided from the very beginning, she would wait for her sister to wake up, no matter how long it would take and then maybe one day they could see the world together. 

Every time she looked at the sky, all of these thoughts would return to her as fresh as ever. So, was this it? Were they finally going to be saved? Could her dreams finally come true?

Was it okay for her dreams to become a reality?

That ray of hope which appeared before her was ever so inviting and yet it was the most terrifying thing that could have ever appeared before her. Seira was scared to reach out for that hope. She was scared to allow herself to think that everything would be okay only for everything to get crushed before her very eyes once again. Reaching for that small light of hope was painful, it felt like it was about to burn her very soul. 

“I see.” 

Tsubasa whispered faintly under her breath. Seira thought that she heard her say something but she couldn’t tell what it was. 

Taking a deep breath, the short girl with bright emerald eyes stood up. She had just received information from her companions about their attempts in waking up the younger sister. They had failed. No matter how much they tried she showed no signs of awakening. Just for an instant, Tsubasa felt a strong sense of deja-vu. 

She had clearly experienced something similar before. She had seen someone fight desperately in order to protect someone important to them. However, back then, she wasn’t able to do anything at all. She didn’t want to admit it, but back then, she realized how scared she was to realize her powerlessness when it came to protecting others. She had stepped aside, reassuring herself that it was not her problem and walked away. 

But she couldn’t allow herself to think like that anymore. Not after all that had happened. Not after all that she had experienced. Her heart had changed after getting deeply involved with the now known group of legendary heroes. She had been there to see how all the events unfolded; she had been part of those very events. And the girl she had silently looked down upon had become the most radiant, blinding light that she had ever imagined. 

It couldn’t end like this. Not after she was entrusted with something so important by that radiant person. Not after the promise she had made to the leader of that legendary group. After all, because of that promise, Tsubasa knew her role wasn’t over yet. A-RISE’s role wasn’t over yet. There was still something very important they had to accomplish, something that only they could do now, but how could she ever fulfill that promise if she couldn’t even stop the tears of a single girl? 

That is why there was only one simple thought remaining in her mind now. 

(There is no turning back now.)

She would face this trial head on. She would save the future of these sisters who were abandoned in the desolate northern land and then she would finally fulfill her promise.

Tsubasa glanced at the vast sky which Seira continued to stare at and then steeled herself. She stepped in front of Seira and spoke with a kind yet serious tone. 

“My friends were unable to save your sister.”

Seira’s eyes opened wide. She had no words to reply to this either, but the words “I knew it,” resonated in her head constantly. She knew it was wrong to have hope but just before her thoughts would continue on a negative path of no return, Tsubasa continued speaking.

“However, I am going to save her. So please be strong and believe in me.”

She extended out her hand towards the elder sister who stared at her in shock. Seira couldn’t understand, she couldn’t understand at all. Why was this stranger being so nice? Why were they willing to do so much for her? She couldn’t help but feel like this was a trap, a trap to play with her feelings, a trap to shatter her heart even more. And yet, this was all she had. Even if it was a trap, even if she ended up getting destroyed beyond repair as a result, she would do anything it takes in order to save her sister. To her, it didn’t matter if she deserved this or not, because this wasn’t for her sake, but for the sake of the most important person to her. 

Looking up at Tsubasa and staring directly into her eyes, Seira gave her a nod, accepting her help, pushing herself to put trust in that scary light of hope. 

“Then let’s go.” Tsubasa moved closer and held Seira’s hand. “We are going to get a little busy from now on.”

Seira couldn’t help but notice how warm Tsubasa’s hand was. It was human warmth that she hadn’t experienced for so long. Even if her sister had some warmth to her despite her state, Seira could tell this felt a lot different. And just like that, she could feel her trembling legs slowly stand up as Tsubasa pulled her up. The purple haired girl felt as though she was being pulled out from a deep sea after drowning for so long. She felt like she was being pulled into the world that she had sought after for so long. 

 

_…_

_…_

_?_

_What is happening?_

_Is there… someone else here?_

_Who is it?_

_Where is sister?_

_Why hasn’t she come back?_

She couldn’t feel anything. She couldn’t feel the cold of winter. She did not hunger for food anymore. She had forgotten what the concept of having to sleep was. She had forgotten what feeling alive was. All she could feel was a strange, floating sensation. That small room appeared like an image before her but it was all blurred out. She could faintly make out the scene before her but she had stayed in there for long enough to know that it was the same room as always.   
_How did it become like this?_

_How did… what?_

_…What was I…?_

_…Wha…_

_…_

Her consciousness was faint and her thoughts dispersed with the breeze. It was as if all her memories were drifting apart, getting erased, leaving her forever. It was almost like her very being was drifting away. 

But even then, even in such a state, there was something that was keeping her here. There was something that wouldn’t let her go, something that wouldn’t let her vanish into nothingness. Even if she had lost all of her senses, for some reason there was a familiar warmth that would always be there for her. A warmth that she could cling unto. As blurry as everything was, she could clearly make out the source of that. It was her sister. Seira. She was always there. Always looking after her, even now. 

Even in this state, her voice still reached her, even in this state; she could still listen to her stories about her day. She could see how she’d fall asleep every night while holding her hand. And she could see how much she would cry out for help, begging her to wake up.

Wake up…?

What was the concept of waking up? 

Was she even asleep right now?

She didn’t know anything. She didn’t know what she could do. She wanted to do something, she wanted to reach out to those desperate cries, but she couldn’t. She didn’t know how to. She had just become the remains of a floating consciousness. 

But something had changed. She didn’t know what it was. She didn’t know why. But she could tell something different had happened in that lonely room. She could see two small lights in the distance, trying to reach out for her, but they were too far away and she couldn’t move to reach them. She couldn’t do anything at all.

Where had that warmth gone to? For some reason, for some time now, it hadn’t returned. If her sister was gone, maybe she should leave too. Maybe she could finally reach her like that. Maybe it was time to let go of this world. 

Her consciousness had started to drift away once more, but before her very existence would be erased, that warmth reached out to her. It pulled her back and allowed her to stay there for a little longer.

 

Inside that lonely room, Seira held Ria’s hand tightly. But this time, something had changed. This time a new found resolve had started to burn up deep inside the elder sister. This time she was clinging into the hope that something would change once and for all.

“Hang in there.” Seira spoke. “Just for a little longer, please.”

 

While Seira checked on her sister, Erena and Anju had walked outside to discuss their next course of action with Tsubasa.

“What are you saying?!” Erena raised her voice. Her expression was a rare one of shock. “Tsubasa, do you understand what you are trying to do?!”

“I know, I know.” Tsubasa sighed. “But it’s our best bet if we want to save this girl. I didn’t want to go back to that place, but I have no choice.”

“At least let us go with you-!”  
“Erena.” Tsubasa crossed her arms and stared into her eyes. “What did we come here for? We can’t abandon our original objective. It’s not something that can wait either.”

Erena remained quiet, knowing that she had no way to deny Tsubasa’s words. It was true that they had come to this place for an entirely different reason. They had come to do something very important that put a lot of heavy responsibility on their shoulders. They didn’t have the time to take a detour and come back later just like that.

“Anju.” Tsubasa then spoke at the princess-looking member of A-RISE. “I have a good guess as to what is going on but, what is your diagnosis?”

“It’s… Glass Heart disease.” Anju informed her with regret and looked away. 

Tsubasa clenched her fist and clicked her tongue with anger.

“Of course it is.” She sighed. “That disease should have been completely stopped so… why is it happening here of all places? What is going on?”

The other two girls remained silent. They were just as distressed as Tsubasa. Not only did it hurt their hearts to see the state these sisters had been forced into, but the idea of this disease spreading again was scary. They had gone through a horrible experience because of it, seen a lot of people suffer but it was something that should have been taken care of. It was something that shouldn’t have happened again. It was something that _couldn’t_ have happened again. So why?

“Either way.” Tsubasa turned around, giving her back to the girls. “Nothing will get resolved if we continue standing here. Let’s get moving.”

Having said this, she started walking back towards the small room where the sisters were. The two remaining members of A-RISE felt anxious by seeing Tsubasa go. They couldn’t shake away the feeling that something terrible was about to happen any moment now, but they also believed in her. She was the leader for a reason. She had helped them survive through many times of crisis so they knew that if someone would be able to handle this, it would be her. 

After going back into the room, Tsubasa walked towards the sister who slept on top of the bed. She immediately noticed how bad the living conditions for these sisters were, the bed wasn’t even a bed at all but a makeshift one that Seira had made. Judging by this, she couldn’t help but wonder if Seira had ever experienced sleeping in a proper bed at all. 

She then placed a hand on top of Ria’s forehead. The human warmth Ria had reassured her that she was still alive, but at the same time it only reminded her of how terrifying this illness was, an illness where people were both dead and alive at the same time. An illness that made you think they would be okay while only crushing you further as days continued to pass by without them waking up. It was something really cruel.

“In order to save your sister, we need to go somewhere else. It won’t be easy, but we will do it. We have a journey ahead of us, are you ready?”

Seira nodded without thinking it twice. She was ready to do anything. She would save her sister no matter what it takes. 

Tsubasa smiled. She walked towards Ria, slowly holding her up like lifting up a doll. She put Ria’s weight over her shoulders while holding her body tightly around her waist. Then, she extended out her hand towards Seira. 

“Let’s go.”

Reaching out to that light of hope, Seira held Tsubasa’s hand tightly. In an instant, the three of them had disappeared thanks to Tsubasa’s magic. Just like that, she had finally left this place. Just like that, something had finally changed. 

 

Seira could hardly believe her eyes. In just an instant, the entire environment around her had changed entirely. She was inside what looked like a fancy large room with black solid walls. The walls almost looked like they were made of some sort of metal which sparkled as light reflected on it. The temperature was a little cold but it was nothing compared to the place she was used to. Looking around, the entire floor was covered with what looked like a silver carpet. At first glance, the place was so vast that it looked like a hall but taking a closer look it was just someone’s bedroom. There was a large bed by one of the windows, a closet and a drawer next to the bed. 

Seira approached the window carefully as Tsubasa put Ria down into the bed. The view that awaited her was breathtaking and overwhelming. She was met with a sea of tall of buildings that reached the sky and spread beyond what she could see. Not only that but she could tell there were decorations on all the buildings and all around the city, it was decorations similar to what she had seen long ago back when her town was still a colorful place. 

After losing the track of time for so long, Seira was surprised to realize it was already the holiday season. Part of her couldn’t wait to see how this place would look like once it was night time and all the colorful December lights started to illuminate the place, but thinking about it, a piercing pain tugged on her heartstrings. It made her remember the time when she was little and would be excited about celebrating with her parents and her sister. She would remember walking up early in the morning impatient to open her presents and impatient to see the smile on her sister when she opened her own. 

But now, all of that was over. 

They had been abandoned. 

Those happy days would never come back.

No. What was she doing? Was she sad because she wanted to experience that happiness again? She tried to stop herself immediately. There was no time for that. She didn’t deserve to wish for happiness. She was here to save her sister, that was all that mattered. But this place….

“Where…?” Seira asked out loud without even realizing it. 

“Tokyo.” Tsubasa was quick to reply. “We are at the UTX headquarters, we need to prepare properly before setting off.”

That’s the excuse Tsubasa gave her for taking her here, even though in truth she was ready to go out at any moment. While it’s true she wanted to hurry and save Ria as fast as possible, she was worried about the elder sister as well. Looking at Ria, she looked like a doll. Despite being in this state her body didn’t suffer any damage or deteriorate in any way. On the other hand, she could tell right away that Seira’s health had taken a lot of damage. Not only did she look tired, but her body was clearly malnourished and it was clear she hadn’t been able to rest properly for a very long time either. 

Tsubasa already had a course of action in mind. She already had an idea of what to do in order to bring this situation to a close, but she was going to need Seira’s help. She needed Seira to come with her, but she wasn’t going to set off to any ordinary place either. If she didn’t get the elder sister to rest she might not even make it. 

“I need to get everything ready.” Tsubasa walked towards one of the doors located in that large room and opened it, gesturing to Seira to go that way. “In the meantime, please go ahead and feel free to take a hot bath here.”

“Hot… bath” Seira tilted her head confused. “What is… that?” 

“Don’t worry.” Tsubasa nodded. She couldn’t even begin to imagine what life was like surviving in that desolate, destroyed town. “Just come here.”

Seira jumped up startled as Tsubasa dragged her into the room and guided her. 

Once she lied down inside a large and fancy tub filled with hot water, she could feel her body instantly relaxing a bit. She felt enveloped by warmth she didn’t imagine possible. It was like she was being healed. For just a moment, she thought it was okay to close her eyes and relax. For just a moment, she thought it was okay if she could just stay here. Thinking about how just a day ago she was trapped in that eternal hell felt unreal. Realizing how sudden your life can change completely after being stuck in a loop where everything was always the same was both exciting and scary.   
It was scary because she didn’t know what was waiting for her from now on, but at the same time, part of her was glad to know she was able to survive for long enough to make it here. It was true that at the very end, she was ready to give up, but she wouldn’t have got to experience this if she didn’t keep fighting until now.

Seira wanted to keep relaxing, but she was still uneasy about leaving her sister alone for too long. After a while, she stepped out of the hot tub and went back to the room as Tsubasa had instructed her beforehand. Tsubasa was nowhere to be found and Seira panicked for a moment realizing her old torn up clothes were nowhere to be found, however, she soon noticed Tsubasa had left her a change of clothes on top of a drawer. 

The purple haired girl approached the clothes with caution but was able to see there was a note on top of them. _“These are for you so please go ahead and wear them. These should be your size but if they don’t feel comfortable, we can always change them later. –Tsubasa.”_

Seira was still a little uneasy about just taking them. Just looking at them they looked brand new and the moment she touched them she could tell they were made of an expensive material. Even if she was used to living in the cold, her body was rapidly starting to freeze up now so she had no choice but to put them on. 

The new clothes were really similar to the uniform the members of A-RISE had been wearing: a white blouse with a black military-looking jacket on top and a black skirt with a large pink ribbon on it. Seira felt strange wearing these clothes but at the same time she felt really comfortable. She didn’t know anything about Tsubasa and her group, but this made her feel like she was part of them now. 

Realizing she had to check on her sister, she rapidly walked towards the bed and noticed Ria’s clothes had changed as well. She was now wearing a similar uniform. Seira felt grateful towards Tsubasa for being considerate with her sister. This was too much. She didn’t know how she could ever repay her.

_Knock._

A sudden noise startled Seira. The noise came from the other side of one of the doors, it was a door located by the far end of the room. 

_Knock knock._

The noise continued.

_Click_

The lock was then undone and the door was slowly opened. Seira quickly ran towards her sister, ready to protect her, but sighed in relief once she realized the one who entered was Tsubasa.

“How are you feeling?” Tsubasa asked in a calm tone. The short girl put a hand on her chin and examined Seira. “As I thought, that looks fantastic on you.”

“I…I’m fine, I want to thank you for the clothes and-”

“Alright.” Tsubasa interrupted her with a smile on her face. “Come with me!” 

Seira tilted her head confused; she didn’t know where she was going now. She followed Tsubasa out of the room and into the building. The place looked a lot bigger than she could have imagined. She followed Tsubasa through a corridor and down a set of stairs until they finally reached what looked like a dining room. There was a large table with a lot of chairs and a banquet of food on top. 

The moment the smell of the food reached Seira she could hear her stomach grumble. At the same time, she couldn’t believe her eyes; it’s been so long since she had ever even seen proper food. And not only that but all of this looked like gourmet food prepared by a really skilled chef.

Seira remained standing in the same spot, staring at the food, trying to hold herself back from just jumping at it. 

“This is for you as well.” Tsubasa smiled at her. “Go ahead and take anything you want.”

The purple haired girl couldn’t believe what she just heard. She still couldn’t process the fact that this banquet had been prepared for her. She just remained there, staring at it for a few minutes before finally walking towards it and digging in. 

 

Tsubasa was glad to see she was able to do at least something to help her recover. As Seira continued to enjot the banquet, Tsubasa walked away. 

She went further down the stairs but instead of entering another room, she knocked on a wall three times. The wall opened up as if it were an automatic door and revealed a secret passage. 

The passage led to a very small room with a box in the middle. The box was protected by a glass and placed like a display at a museum. All Tsubasa had to do was to snap her fingers and the box then appeared in her hand.

“I guess I will have to rely on these again.” Tsubasa spoke to herself as she opened the box. There were five pink gems with the shape of a heart inside. “This may get ugly, even with these, but we are departing tomorrow. We are going to Shangri-la.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since everyone said Saturday updates were okay I decided to do it like this: This story may update either on Friday or Saturday from now on. I think this is good since it gives me a bigger window of time to work with!
> 
> Also to answer the question I received from YohaRiko on a comment about Riko playing the piano at some point: I like to take inspiration from all forms of love live canon when writing the characters. I like to take into account all the anime, manga, SIF, school idol diaries and drama tracks, so this means Riko in this story is definitely proficient at both piano and art. I can't say anything for sure right now but in the right circumstances it could happen!


	26. Self Control - Part 3

“Are you ready?” 

Tsubasa stood inside her room along with the sisters. A day had passed by and all preparations were complete. Even if Seira’s body still looked fragile, Tsubasa knew she was sturdy enough to have been able to survive on her own. What they were about to do was possibly one of the most dangerous things Tsubasa had every experienced, but it was now or never. 

“I’m ready.” 

Seira gave her a nod as she adjusted the white gloves in her hands. Wearing a uniform similar to A-RISE gave her confidence. This person had changed her life in just an instant and now they were on the way to save her sister. Everything would finally get better. If anything, Seira was impatient to get going already. 

“Then, one last thing before we go.” Tsubasa reached into her pocket and handed Seira two small heart-shaped gems. “I want you to keep these with you no matter what. One is yours and one is for your sister.”

Seira stared at the gem in her hands curiously. She couldn’t quite tell what material it was made of but it felt like it was made out of some sort of precious crystal. Light reflected on the surface and Seira could sense a strange power lying dormant in the gem. 

Tsubasa picked up Ria, putting her weight on her back. She then extended out her hand to Seira. Without hesitation, the elder sister reached for Tsubasa’s hand, grasping it tightly. In an instant, they vanished, leaving the room completely empty.

Seira closed her eyes as she was enveloped by a strange sensation, as though she was floating or falling. This sensation only lasted for an instant before she could feel solid ground under her feet once again. 

Once she opened her eyes again, a magical scenery waited for her.

The place where she was standing looked like a large metallic corridor suspended high atop the skies. There were no walls surrounding the place, letting a cold breeze instantly run across her body. Being so high up, no matter where she looked at, she was surrounded by a radiant sky. The sky wasn’t like anything she’d seen before. Despite it being cloudy, a radiant light shone brightly between the seams. This light accentuated the light blue color which mixed with a faint tone of bright red, purple and lime green. This scenery also reflected into the floor where she stood, almost making it seem like she was standing atop the heavens. 

“This is the closest I can get to our destination by teleporting.” Tsubasa frowned. She focused on the three Love Gems which rested inside her pocket as she spoke. “My void magic doesn’t work beyond this point, so we’ll have to go in a little journey to get there.”

“Where… is this?” 

Seira was dumbfounded by the scenario that spread before her. She slowly gave a step forward as she followed Tsubasa further along the path. The path itself extended far off into the distance, but she was soon able to notice it connect into strange, arc-like shapes which rested high atop the sky, spreading further into even more paths. 

“Are you able to use any kind of magic?” Tsubasa replied with another question. She knew explaining what this place was to Seira wouldn’t be so easy.

“Just a little bit of lightning magic.” Seira started at her own hand and a small purple spark jumped out of her palm.

“Lighting magic?!” Tsubasa was surprised and she pondered to herself out loud. “Lighting magic is an advanced form of Wind magic that happens when you also draw power from the environment around you.”

“Huh?”

“Nevermind.” Tsubasa ordered her thoughts and decided to give Seira an explanation. “Listen, magic is a very curious thing, it is both a very personal thing and yet, something that is part of the world itself. The reason you and I can use magic is because of Legendary Power. Legendary Power is an important source of life for this world. Just like how we use oxygen to breath and how we need food and water to survive, Legendary Power is also essential to us. You could say that is what our soul needs in order to exist, in that sense, our soul is also what allows us to use magic.”

Seira remained in silence while listening to Tsubasa’s explanation. She didn’t understand where this was going but she knew it was very important information. After all, everyone at her hometown was able to use magic one way or another. That is how she had learned to use magic herself. But on the other hand, something about this felt off. There was only one person in her town that was completely unable to use magic up till now and that person had been her sister. Could this mean that she was not receiving any legendary power? And if so, did that mean that her very soul was slowly dying?

Seira felt uneasy. She wanted to ask Tsubasa about it but allowed her to finish with her explanation first. 

“Just like how trees can make oxygen for us and how you can find water in rivers, Legendary Power is also something you can find in the world. There is a source. And it’s not just us as humans, even plants and animals need Legendary Power in order to survive. Across the world, there are very powerful sources that power up the environment, called Power Roots. If one of these sources is removed, it would greatly affect the environment around them. However, even power roots are just a means this world uses in order to let that power flow. There is something much greater, much more important that our world needs to survive.”

“Something… important?”

“Yes. Entropy. That is the name we have given to the very cores where Legendary Power gathers in the world. Even with so little Entropy Cores, they are powerful enough to keep this world alive. It is said that this is where energy generates and gathers, spreading across the world using the Power Roots, and then every time you, me or anyone else uses magic, every time Legendary Power is used up, it travels back to the respective Entropy Cores, powering them up even more as they spread their essence throughout the world once again. In short, they are the very pillars that allows the world to exist and that is precisely where we are going.” 

Seira had a hard time keeping up with all these complex terms. After living trapped in the ruins of a small town, it was hard to believe any of this was real to begin with. But the fact was also that magic was real and she had no other way to explain it. To her it was something natural. The very term of “magic” was something on the same level of knowing how to speak or how to run, and yet, thinking about it, she never really knew the reason why magic existed in the first place. 

If she were to believe what Tsubasa said then this little adventure was a lot grander than anything she could have ever imagined. With every step she gave forward, she was moving closer and closer to one of the very foundations of the world. That alone was something incredible, but she still couldn’t connect the dots in her head. 

“But… why are we here?”

“Because this is the best way to save your sis-”

“But-!” Seira rapidly interrupted her, she felt like this was information Tsubasa needed to have right away. “Ria was never able to use magic!” 

“Hm.” Tsubasa remained silent for a few seconds. “That explains why this happened then.”

“?”

“Your sister is suffering from a condition known as Heart Glass Syndrome. It is an illness that affects her heart directly, but I’m not referring to her heart in a physical sense, to be more accurate, it affects her soul.”

“An illness that affects her soul?”

“Yes. The essence of the heart, the soul, they are deeply connected. You could say they are the very same. What this illness does that it breaks the link between your body and your soul, it sends them out of sync, leaving anyone affected in a death-like state. I told you, right? We need Legendary Power in order to use magic, and that is a power that fuels up our souls. But when you use magic, you can feel like it like a normal, physical thing correct?”

Seira nodded, she concentrated, letting small purple sparks jump out of her fingertips. 

“I can feel the electricity whenever I use magic, it doesn’t hurt or anything, but I can feel the tingly sensation in my fingers.”

“That is enough proof that your soul and your body are perfectly connected, as it should be. The fact that your sister couldn’t use magic means she may have been already infected by that illness since long ago. Of course, there is no way to know for sure, but if that’s the case then there must have been a trigger that put her in this state.”

“A trigger?”

“Yes. By itself when infected by this illness, all that happens is that you can’t use magic, like your sister was before. But this is also why it’s called the Heart Glass Syndrome. If someone that was already infected is put under enough emotional stress, it works as a trigger that severs apart the link between their body and soul, enough to leave them in this state.”

Seira remained quiet. She had a good idea of what that trigger could have been, it was the events of that day where the town was left in ruins. Seira’s memory was faint but this pained her heart. If only she was more brave, if only she was stronger and could have protected her sister so she would have nothing to worry about, then maybe things wouldn’t have ended up like this. 

She still didn’t understand the details on how coming here would save her sister, but she could make some guesses. If this place was the source of the power that fueled up souls and allowed them to exist, then maybe there was a way to heal her sister’s soul. 

Taking a deep breath the purple haired girl continued walking forward across that land of fantasy together with Tsubasa. After learning what kind of place this was, she could feel her heart pounding fast. The further in they walked the more the path blended in with the bright skies. It didn’t feel like she was walking on solid ground anymore. If it wasn’t for Tsubasa walking forward normally, she would have thought she’d fall to her death at any moment now. 

The road continued to extend forward and it was by no means a short journey. Even after hours of walking it felt like the road continued to stretch into an infinite distance. She had followed Tsubasa up across a set of stairs, walked past the arcs that she had seen standing so high up until something appeared before her sight amidst this endless scenery. It was a tower. The tower looked like it was made of a diamond-like crystal on which the colorful light from the heavens was reflected. But unlike the floor on which Seira was standing, the tower was a lot brighter, so bright that the very skies paled in comparison. 

Once they were close enough, Seira could see the entrance of the tower just a few steps away. The door was already open, inviting them inside. Looking up, it felt as though the tower continued going up, beyond the very heavens. 

“This is the last path between us and the Entropy.” Tsubasa spoke. “All the traps should be deactivated by now and all the puzzles should be solved, letting us reach the top easily, however, I advise you to proceed with caution. Make sure you are by my side no matter what.”

After stepping in the tower, Seira’s memory was fuzzy. She had the recollection of climbing it up along with Tsubasa, going across strange stairs, big rooms full of treasure, a radiant fountain with magical water and then before she knew it she was standing at the very top. And once she was there, no, after reaching the very top, she had reached a new location. After all, Tsubasa did say this tower was last path they had to follow. 

Before she knew it she was standing before what looked like an altar. The walls of the tower had all disappeared. All that surrounded her was a vast space decorated with a million shining stars and what looked like galaxies far off in the distance. Behind the altar, Seira could see a powerful bright light like that one of the blazing sun. 

Seira could see Tsubasa walking forward, placing Ria’s body atop the altar. 

“Quick.” Tsubasa spoke, extending her hand out at Seira. “Give her the Love Gem.”

Seira hesitated for a moment but was fast to realize it was the gem Tsubasa had given her at the beginning of this journey. Seira followed Tsubasa’s instructions, placing the gem on Ria’s hand and holding her fist with her hands so that she wouldn’t drop it. While that happened, a burst of light shot up from below the altar. 

If one were to look at this scene from afar, all they could see was a fountain of radiant light as shooting stars danced in the distance. It was a sight that no regular mortal was allowed to behold. Seira held her sister’s hand tightly, praying that this would save her. Before closing her eyes, the last thing she saw was Tsubasa smiling at her as she placed her hands on top of her. 

The gem within Ria’s hand let out a spark of light, enveloping her body, absorbing the light from that fountain which surrounded them and letting the energy flow across Ria. With this, Seira could feel Ria’s fingers slowly moving. She couldn’t tell why, but she could feel life returning to her. 

With this, she had been saved. 

But the shining light from the fountain didn’t fade away. Tsubasa reached for her pocket, trying to pull out her Love Gems, she knew this was the time when she would need them, but all her fingers could find was broken pieces and dust. She closed her eyes, she knew that this may happen and she was ready to accept it. 

Seira did not realize something had changed, she was distracted by the immense happiness she felt by seeing her sister open her eyes. She did not realize how Tsubasa’s hand had suddenly left her. How she was being engulfed by the light and pulled away. 

The purple haired girl hugged her sister tightly, she had no words and could not stop herself from crying, but then a very bad feeling enveloped her body. That is when she finally looked up. Tsubasa was not standing next to her anymore. Instead, she was being pulled into the scenery, as if she was being consumed by the light.

Seira rapidly jumped, extending out her arm, trying to reach out at her but by the time she reacted it was too late. And so, the girl with emerald eyes spoke her last words.

“Please take your sister and go.”

“I’m not going anywhere, I can’t leave you!!”

“Don’t worry about me, this is just what I deserve.”

“Please don’t leave me!!”

Seira ran and ran, trying to get as close to Tsubasa as she could. She got so close that she could feel her fingertips finally reaching her. But with the fading image of Tsubasa giving her a smile, the light dissipated, and just like that, the person who had done so much for her, the person who had saved her, was gone. 

Seira could hear her sister trying to call out to her, but Seira couldn’t listen properly between her screams and cries. No matter how much she called out to Tsubasa, there was no response. 

Destiny was cruel. She had saved someone important to her but lost someone else. Disheartened and in panic, Seira picked up Ria, running away from there as fast as possible and almost as if she had been guided by someone, she kneeled down and placed her hand against the floor. 

In that moment, the environment around her changed. She could feel the falling sensation that came from void magic and just like that, she was back inside Tsubasa’s room. 

Not knowing what to feel, all Seira could do was to hug her sister tightly while crying in her shoulder. At that time, Ria had no recollection of what happened, she remained speechless and simply hugged Seira back with her weak arms.

In the end, the sisters had decided to spend the night there. Ria remained silent all night, her mind still couldn’t catch up with all the events of what happened. Seira felt pain in her heart, and yet, seeing her sister well and alive made her feel relief. She thought she would explain everything later, Ria was still very young after all and Seira didn’t want to trouble her.  
But then, something unexpected happened. 

The next morning, the morning of Christmas, Seira was suddenly woken up by someone gently touching her shoulder. She jumped up startled; she wasn’t used to human interaction or being woken up anymore.

“Ria?”

But her eyes opened up in surprise the moment she saw Tsubasa standing before her. 

“Wha-?!”

“Were you worried?”

Seira hugged her tightly, nodding rapidly. This was all she could ever want. It almost felt like it was unreal, like she was dreaming. She didn’t understand anything, she didn’t know how Tsubasa made it back after what she had seen, but she was here and that was all that mattered. 

A small Ria stared at the girl confused and simply joined into the hug after seeing her sister do the same. Tsubasa gave the two of them a pat in the head and smiled at them.

“You don’t have to worry about anything anymore.” And then she spoke with a strange, somber tone that Seira did not think to question at the time. “I am finally here after all.”

That was the happiest day Seira had ever had. Tsubasa had taken both sisters on a tour across Tokyo. In the midst of the holidays, the city was covered in colorful lights and decorations. She had never seen such a lively place. She could see her sister’s eyes light up as they walked by all the different shops and that warmed her heart with joy. 

At night, they had visited the large tree in the middle of the city and even gotten presents from Tsubasa. Seira truly felt like her life had finally changed for the better. She wanted to stay like this forever. 

And yet, life was never easy.

It didn’t happen overnight, if anything, Seira thought it was like looking at a slow, gradual change. Eventually, she could tell for sure that Tsubasa was not the same anymore. After those events, the two of them had been living at the UTX building and started to train just like A-RISE had. Seira had become a lot more proficient with her magic and discovered she could now use some void magic to a degree as well.

Her sister had also awakened to magic, far more powerful than Seira’s, the two had become well known and would even get to join the other A-RISE members in special missions. 

By this point, they had already started to notice some of the changes in Tsubasa’s attitude. She had started to come off as less kind and more distant. Seira thought this was just normal, maybe she didn’t know her too well after all, but it didn’t matter, she was still grateful to her. 

And yet, the day came where things escalated to the point even Seira could not overlook it. 

Their usual missions consisted in helping people or restoring the nearby communities, but this time it was different. The Kazuno sisters followed Tsubasa into a small town. This time they had not been told the details of the mission. 

Once they arrived to the town, it looked like a small village and it reminded Seira of the way her hometown used to be. The houses however seemed to be in a deplorable condition. The river that ran close by had dried up and most of the trees were dying down.

“What happened here?” Seira questioned out loud. “We have to help them immediately!”

“Right?” Tsubasa spoke. “We should put them out of their misery.”

With a snap of Tsubasa’s finger, the entire town was drowned by black flames in an instant. Seira still couldn’t believe her eyes. She couldn’t believe the destruction that was taking place before her.

As if her body had moved up on its own, Seira ran forward and pulled up Tsubasa by her collar.  
“What do you think you are doing?!”

“What? Do you have anything to complain about?” 

Tsubasa spoke with a cold tone as if she had no care for this situation. She didn’t give Seira a chance to speak before she gave her a slap in the face, throwing her against the ground. Ria ran to her sister, helping her stand up again. She then glared at Tsubasa who simply looked down at her, as if looking down at an insect.

“Please put the fire out immediately, we need to save these people not hurt them!!” 

“Is that so?” Tsubasa laughed. “Well, good luck with that.”

And just like that, she teleported herself away, leaving this town in ruins as people cried and screamed. 

Seira could feel her entire world falling apart. And that is when something became clear in her mind: “That is not her.”

“Sister?”

“That is not Tsubasa. That has to be someone else.” Seira slammed her fists into the ground in frustration. The images of everything that happened ran across her head. The day she was saved from that eternal hell and the moment she had seen Tsubasa’s figure fade away into the light. “Of course that’s not her! That can’t be her after all she…!!”

Seira’s screams echoed amidst the destruction of that town.

This is when she was stuck into a new eternal hell. Working so closely with A-RISE they could not run away, and they could not oppose them, they would be destroyed by Tsubasa in an instant if they did. It wasn’t only Tsubasa anymore; it was like the other members were also being taken over by some strange malice. Because of this, they had no choice but to follow their orders even if it meant hurting other people. Was there really no way out of this? After so long, the dread of existing and the urgency to give up shrouded Seira once more. 

But something was different. This time Seira wasn’t alone.

It happened the night Tsubasa had left on a mission. Everyone was on edge after they got word that the princess had escaped and security on the headquarters had lowered as more people were dispatched. That night she could hear a faint tap on her window and when she went to check, it was her sister, Ria calling out to her. 

Seira opened the window. Ria was someone who didn’t speak too much but Seira had an easy time understanding her regardless. She followed her sister all the way to the top of the UTX building. They stood atop the roof, which was completely empty. 

“Ria?”

“…” 

Ria remained quiet, she stared at the night sky and took a deep breath. Then she finally stared right into Seira’s eyes. She had never seen such a decisive look in her face. Ria was bad at showing any emotion, but Seira could tell this wasn’t the case today.

“Sis, I believe what you said. I believe than that person wasn’t Tsubasa.”

“Huh?”

“But that is why… if that isn’t her. We have to save her, the real one, we can’t abandon her.”

“Ria…”

“Let’s save her and then put a stop to this.”

Seira remained speechless. This is when she realized things were different now. She couldn’t sit and accept this destiny. She couldn’t give up on the person who had done so much for her. And so, no matter what it takes, she swore she would save her no matter what.

☆

Moving back to the current time.

“Chika?” 

You walked across the corridors of an old building in the middle of the night. She was woken up by a faint sound she had heard next door but then gasped in surprise when she saw the body of the princess lying down lifeless on the floor. 

 

Closer than they could have imagined, Seira stood inside a small room in the city of Hakone. She had learned about a certain group that travelled with the princess trying to make their way to Tokyo. Thanks to working so closely with A-RISE she knew what they were planning. She knew that if they let the princess go back, it would all be over. This is why, she was going to stop them no matter what.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since we don't have as much material as with the main girls, writing A-RISE and Saint Snow has always been a little challenging for me, but I also decided they would be an important part to this story, so I hope you've enjoyed this small arc!! I was excited to write about the Entropy since it's a very important location that goes beyond any other place we've visited so far. 
> 
> We've also reached 2k+ hits! I remember I promised you all a side story at 1k hits, so this means we'll get 2 side stories now. I still can't promise you an specific date but most likely after the holidays. 
> 
> And lastly, I can't believe it's already Christmas Eve tomorrow. Whether you are going to spend the holidays with your family, friends or on your own (like me! Highfive!) I hope you have a really good time! You are all important to me and I appreciate you taking your time to follow this story!


	27. Self Control - Part 4

_Let’s aim for that distant light. I want to fly once more together with you. Don’t look. Even if my fingertips tremble, I've already reached for loneliness. Now, I'll bet everything on it._

“Use the princess?!” Seira asked in shock. 

This was a vivid image in her head from the very last time she interacted directly with Tsubasa. After working closely with A-RISE, Saint Snow was always up to date with their recent activities and most prominent goals. 

It was clear to Seira that there was something wrong, not only had most of their activities slowed down, but they would keep being sent in order to do things on their own. It was almost as if they were being kept away from crucial information on purpose. 

She couldn’t help but to continue growing uneasy. After seeing Tsubasa destroy an innocent town firsthand there was no telling of what she would try to do next. However, the day Seira learned about one of A-RISE’s biggest plans, she knew it was something that she had no stop no matter what.

She had to stop it no matter what, but how?

Before she was called in by Tsubasa in order to receive her task for this operation, there was very important, heavy news that were announced throughout the city of Tokyo on that day. 

**The queen has perished.**

Seira still didn’t understand the concept too well, a lot of things about the world still confused her. But according to what she learned, after a big catastrophe almost destroyed the world, it had been saved by a group of legendary heroes. Seira had come to learn of stories about those legendary heroes from Tsubasa and the other members of A-RISE who seemed to have been directly involved with them. However, even if the world was saved, it was true that it had taken a grand amount of damage. Entire nations had disappeared from the map and a lot of places were still in need for help. 

In order to recover and progress, the world had become more unified and split into four major forces, each named after the four major elements of magic that sustained the world: Aer, Aqua, Terra and Ignis. 

Because of this, major battles over the control of the most powerful forces of the world were as prominent as ever. This is when the Queen’s role came into play. Not only was she the major force that ruled over all of Tokyo and Japan, but she also had absolute power over two of the major forces of the world: Aer and Ignis. If one were to look at the older world map, that would have represented the same as power over all of Asia, Europe and even some of Southern America.

Of course, there was a reason she had power over such a big part of the world. It was because she possessed that much power over magic as well. Seira was not aware of the details, but she knew it was connected to her crown. 

A radiant crown of pure gold decorated with at least one hundred Love Gem stones. 

It was without question that if it came down to a direct conflict, not even A-RISE would have been able to overpower such a great force. The queen had complete control over one half of the world, she was a person of great importance and that very person lived inside a great palace in the city of Tokyo.

But now that she had passed away, this meant that all that power would go to the princess, she would become the new queen. 

Even if the news of the queen dying had shaken up a big part of the world, to the Kazuno sisters, that didn’t mean anything. They would continue their everyday lives as it is, or that’s how it should have been.

“Correct. We will use the princess and take control over the crown.” 

Tsubasa’s words made Seira grow increasingly anxious. As it was, A-RISE already had a lot of power unrivaled by anyone. Why would she want absolute control over such a big portion of the world? No matter how you saw it, there was no way that this would be good. If anything, Seira only felt like this would make Tsubasa sink in lower and lower, losing herself even more and more. 

“You may not know this.” Tsubasa explained. “But even if I had the crown with me right now, I can’t use it.” 

“You can’t use it?”

“The crown only accepts someone with Royal blood. This is why we need to use the princess.”

“How do you plan to do that? Are we supposed to become close to her so she will listen to our words?” 

Ria who had been summoned by Tsubasa as well inquired. At the moment she felt grateful by the fact that she couldn’t express any emotion. By remaining calm and pretending to be on A-RISE’s side she would try to get as much information as possible. Information was a very important thing to her. It allowed her to think of all the possible scenarios and take a course of action. She still wasn’t sure if she would be able to do anything at all, but she was going to gather as much information as possible. She was doing it first and foremost for his sister. Looking at Seira’s troubled expression was always painful for her. 

She would try and do something no matter what it takes. But she was well aware A-RISE was a force to be reckoned with, and listening at the details of the plan only convinced her of one thing: _There was no way to stop them._

“Of course not.” Tsubasa smiled as she explained. It was a malicious smile that didn’t even try to hide her evil intent. “We need her royal blood, not her soul. We have the power to erase her soul and take over. We couldn’t do it with the queen because she was protected by the crown, but this is different. The princess hasn’t gone through the coronation ceremony yet.”

The power to erase a soul sounded like something terrifying. If they were to go through with something like this they would have access to that absolute power without anyone even realizing what happened. 

But then something that gave them a ray of hope happened, something that tore apart A-RISE’s plan. The princess had escaped. If the princess was gone they would need to put the coronation in halt. Of course, Tsubasa took off immediately in order to retrieve her, but that gave them some time to do something and try to save Tsubasa, putting a stop to this for good. 

That night, Ria had seen that ray of hope as well and that is when she had taken the decision to push her sister and start taking action to make a change.

It didn’t take long for the sisters to receive a letter from Tsubasa. The letter had instructions for them to wait for her at Aokigahara, the sea of trees. It seemed that the princess had fled into a small seaside town named Uchiura. 

It may have been just a coincidence, or it may have been destiny, but by escaping there, two of A-RISE’s major plans aligned with each other: taking over the princess’ body, gaining access to the powers of the crown and being able to complete the Aquarium Project. It was a terrifying project that made her sick just to think about it, it was the worst possible situation, but it was also their biggest chance. 

After all, there was a Power Root located just inside that forest and Ria was an expert of earth magic now. If they could take that power, they might be able to put a stop to Tsubasa’s plans. But if they were to fail and make an enemy of her, the consequences might be fatal.

Yet again, the unexpected happened, the princess had arrived at the forest along with a small group and Tsubasa was nowhere to be seen. Deciding it was time to take action, Seira set out to secure the princess together with her sister. With Tsubasa nowhere to be seen, things would be a lot easier. 

Seira made sure to approach them carefully. She could see the princess along with two more girls as they stood in the midst of a maze of trees. It was easy to find them thanks to one of them using powerful magic in order to summon what looked like a holy bird. Seira would be swift in executing her plan, but that is when she saw her. She caught a glimpse of a girl with short gray hair which she instantly recognized from the files of the Aquarium Project. What was someone like that doing here? She knew that if someone like that were to get involved with her or with the princess, then things would only become worse. 

As events in the forest developed, Seira had come face to face with that very girl. She had seen her tapping into the power of a Love Gem and to make things worse, she had discovered the existence of the Aquarium Project. 

This encounter is what scared Seira the most. At that time, when confronted about the truth of the project, Seira responded with unrestrained malice. Even if she was fully conscious of her actions at the time, it also felt like someone else was speaking through her mouth. It scared her because it’s something she had seen well before. The one that had started acting strange wasn’t only Tsubasa. Slowly, she could see the same malice coming from other members of A-RISE and from all the people around her. But at that moment, on that day, she had experienced that malice coming from herself. 

She couldn’t understand why. She couldn’t understand if it was because of the power of the forest, or if there was something wrong with her. But once she had managed to escape the forest with her sister she had come back to her senses and her actions weighted heavily on her. Despite this, she couldn’t back down. She had to continue and take action while she could. 

That is when she learned that the princess and her group were going to Tokyo. It was the worst possible news. Even if Tsubasa was missing, the other two members of A-RISE were still there. If she returned to Tokyo then it would all be over. 

This is why, this time, she wouldn’t hold back. This time, she wouldn’t fail. This time, she would put a stop to this for good.

☆

“Riko? Riko?! Riko, please answer me!!”

The voice of the orange haired girl cried out inside a small room in the middle of the night. All the other girls who had reunited looked away in distress. How did it come to this? No matter how much any of them cried out, it was useless.

“To think the enemy would resort to such cowardice.” Dia frowned as she looked down into floor. 

“I let my guard down.” Mari spoke with a somber voice. “I didn’t consider they would target the princess like this.”

“Calm down.” Kanan crossed her arms and then glanced at Hanamaru. “Were you able to figure out what’s wrong?”

The short brunette shook her head. She was examining Riko while trying to use her magic but no matter how much she tried to heal her, it wasn’t working.

“She is still alive, zura.” As Hanamaru explained this, everyone sighed in relief but it wouldn’t be so simple. “She is alive but… her heart and breathing have stopped. Her body hasn’t gone cold and stiff but it is rejecting my magic. She won’t wake up at this rate.”

“Is she under some kind of curse?” 

“I can’t tell for sure. But if it was, it’s not something I’m able to undo.” Hanamaru stepped back for a moment, trying to catch her breath after pouring out so much healing magic.

“Curses are just some kind of magic, right?” Chika asked. “In that case, maybe I can break it apart.”

“Wait!” “No!” 

Dia and Yohane were quick to grab Chika’s arms and pull her back before her hands made contact with Riko.

“Let me go, with this power I can-!!” Chika yelled, struggling to break free.

“It is true you can easily break apart magic but we don’t know the cause of what’s happening to her, one wrong move and this could turn fatal!!” 

As Dia explained, Chika slowly stopped moving. She was frustrated. She knew Dia was right, but she wanted to at least try and do _something._ The very fact that they didn’t know what was happening to Riko only made things worse. Looking at her, it was easy to tell she had passed out with a pained expression of horror. Just what did she see? Just what did she experience? How could she let this happen when she was right there? It wasn’t only Chika. All the girls shared this thought. 

But there was someone that felt even heavier guilt. She had stayed quiet, sitting in a corner of the room. She hadn’t been able to sleep all night. After learning what happened to Riko, Ruby couldn’t help but feel like it was her fault. Even though there was no way to tell for sure, if Riko was inflicted by a curse from an enemy it had to happen when she fought Ria. It was the last time they had been under enemy attack and the only other person that had been there was Ruby. 

She could remember clearly. She could remember how Riko pushed her away in order to save her from a devastating attack. She could see the image of blood dripping from Riko’s arm fresh in her mind. After Hanamaru had healed her wound, Ruby thought it would all be okay now. But that wasn’t the case. So did this mean she would be the one in this state if it wasn’t for Riko? 

The other person who was heavily affected by this as well was You. She didn’t like for other people to notice whenever she was upset, so she wasn’t saying anything either. In fact, the heavy atmosphere only made her want to help everyone feel better, but staying quiet only made her negative thoughts weight more on her heart. She was the one who had found Riko lying down on the floor. When she tried to check on her, she had no pulse and no heartbeat. Distressed, she panicked and called for help from everyone. But deep inside, she couldn’t shake away the thought that maybe it was too late. Even if Hanamaru claimed she was still alive, she felt like that wasn’t the case. 

The young sailor girl remained quiet, observing everyone in the room, but above all, her attention was called by the girl who sat in the corner, covering her face while unable to hold back her tears. 

“Are you okay?” You approached Ruby, giving her a gentle pat in the shoulder.

“R-Ruby thinks this is her fault.” She spoke through her tears without making eye contact. 

“What do you mean?”

“Ruby was there and yet… Ruby couldn’t do anything...”

What did Ruby mean? You felt confused but she also felt like she might have the answer they all needed. Come to think of it, when the maze came crashing into all of them, they all had used their powers at full force in order to survive. It all happened so fast You couldn’t keep up with everything so she didn’t realize it, but what were Riko and Ruby doing at that time? After leaving the maze the two had remained awfully quiet, so no one ever learned about the events of that evening.

“Wait Ruby.” You felt bad about pushing Ruby like this, but she knew she had to dig deeper. “What are you talking about? Can you please tell me what happened?”

“We were attacked by Ria from Saint Snow.” Ruby took a deep breath, holding back her tears and doing her best to explain. She didn’t have any reason to hide this information, in fact she knew she had to let everyone know but she felt horrible just thinking about it, so saying it out loud wasn’t so easy. “She… she was trying to crush everyone in the maze… and then Riko got wounded while saving me, that’s probably when… s-s-so that’s why…”

“What did you say?!” Mari who was sitting in the floor just next to them reacted as she listened to the conversation. “You were attacked by Saint Snow?!”

“Then this should be easy.” Dia pondered out loud. “If they are after us they should be nearby. I am not an expert on magic but if you take out the spell caster then the curse should break.”

“Then!” Chika’s eyes lighted up. She was willing to take any options no matter how small. “If we defeat them, we can save Riko!”

“ _Let’s do it!_ ” Mari stood up, yelling cheerfully while trying to brighten the mood and push everyone into action. “We’ll defeat Saint Snow, save Riko and then go to Tokyo!!”

_“So you are really going after all, huh?”_

A voice spoke, a voice from someone who wasn’t in the room up till now. In the blink of an eye, a girl with purple hair tied up into a side-tail stood in the center of the room. She spoke with a serious and relaxed tone as she glared at the other girls.

“I can’t allow you to do that.” 

Seira didn’t give anyone a chance to react. Small balls made of steel flew across the air and towards the girls. Chika, Dia, Kanan and Mari were fast to catch them before they were hit but the instant they touched the cold metallic material, they were teleported away somewhere along with Seira.

“W-What just happened?!” Yohane looked around while panicking.

“Tch.” You clenched her fist. “So they won’t even give us time to think.”

“B-But isn’t this a good thing?” Yohane wondered. “They are saving us the trouble to go look for them.”

“I’m not so sure, zura.”

“What is it zuramaru? Do you think they have some sort of plan?”

“Of course they do but that’s not it. There are lesser curses that remain active long after the caster has passed away. And even if we do break the curse that way, I did say she was alive but…” Hanamaru held Riko’s hand. The warmth that enveloped her was slowly fading away. “We don’t have much time.” 

Upon hearing this, Ruby’s eyes opened wide. She ran towards Riko, placing her hand on her forehead. Even if Ruby knew nothing about healing, she was still an alchemist, and life was something precious and important to them. Alchemists could feel the very essence of life, and she could tell Riko’s life was fading away.

“Let’s go find Chika and the others.” You’s voice lowered. She was having trouble holding back her emotions from showing. “If they did this to Riko, they can do it to them as well. I’ll force them to dispel the curse even if I have to beat them to a pulp.”

“Let’s go.” Yohane agreed. “I can’t allow them to take down one of my little demons just like that.”

Arming herself with confidence Ruby nodded as she clenched her fists. There was no telling if there was anything they could actually do but all she could do right now was to try.

Hanamaru had decided to stay back and look after Riko, but she held Yohane tightly by her wrist as You and Ruby dashed out of the room. 

“Z-Zuramaru, what is it?!”

“I didn’t want to do this, zura. But right now we really have no choice.” Hanamaru spoke while looking down at the floor. She slowly raised her head and stared intently into the girl’s eyes. “I need your help _Yohane.”_

“Hana…maru?”

 

“Ruby!” You spoke as they ran towards the exit of the building. “Do you have any way to locate the others with your alchemy?”

“R-Ruby can try to make a tower so we can search from high up!”

“Perfect!” You smiled at her. “Let’s-!”

The sailor girl stopped her sentence midway. As soon as she reached the exit of the building, she jumped back and extended out an arm to prevent Ruby from moving forward as well. Standing outside, the other member of Saint Snow waited for them. Without saying a word, Ria’s eyes locked into them and that alone was enough to express her heavy intent of aggression. 

You could recognize this girl right away. She was the one who had saved Seira and stolen the energy root from the forest. She prepared to confront her, but the one who let out an angry yell was surprisingly the red haired pigtail girl that stood next to her.

“What did you do to Riko?!” Ruby yelled as anger stared to boil up inside her.

Ria remained silent and emotionless for a few seconds. You couldn’t help but feel like something was really wrong. She had to be alert and ready for anything, but nothing could have prepared her for what would happen next.

“Why are you worried for someone else when you should be worried about yourself?”

The moment Ria said this, You and Ruby could feel a sudden, falling sensation. 

“?!” 

You turned her head around only to see the structure of the hotel where they were staying rising up. But it was more accurate to say that they were the ones falling down. The entire solid ground around them began to sink down at a fast speed across a long range as if it has been cut apart from the scenery. 

Ruby was fast to slam her hands against the floor in order to activate her alchemy. Golden light illuminated the night, but nothing happened.

“T-This is just like in the maze!!” Ruby could recognize that sensation all too well.

“I have turned this into my magic field. Let’s end this here.”

You looked up, she knew trying to jump to reach the upper level wouldn’t work, it was too high up now and the amount of land sinking was too grand. In that case there was only something she could to: take down her enemy as fast as possible. 

“Ruby.” You spoke without looking back at red pigtail girl. “Watch my back, I believe in you.”

Ruby clenched her fists and looked at You as she began to charge at Ria with all her might.

☆

“Huh?!” Chika looked around startled. She was standing next to a lake and in front of what looked like the gates of a Japanese shrine.

Dia, Kanan and Mari had been transported to the same place without warning. It was hard to see properly with only the light of the moon to illuminate the place, but thanks to the image of Mt. Fuji in the background they could tell that they hadn’t been teleported too far away. Aside from the lake there were a lot of trees and what looked like a cable car that went into the direction of Mt. Fuji itself. 

“WHAT?” Mari reached for her guns. “What happened?!”

“This is void magic.” Kanan explained as she assumed a battle stance. “Everyone, be careful. The enemy could come for us from anywhere!”

“Hmph. Very well then.” Dia drew her blade. “Let us take care of this at once.”

They were wary, being careful for any kind of noise or indication that would reveal Seira’s position. But what came after wasn’t an attack. It was rain. It only started with a few raindrops but it rapidly became a downpour. The sound of rain spread through the night as it fell against the trees and over the lake. 

And then, very close to them, from the other side of the shrine’s gate, thunder descended. 

Seira’s figure appeared standing right on the spot where thunder landed. Her violet eyes glowed in the night as she approached the girls slowly. 

An inevitable battle that would decide everyone’s future broke out.

_Who's my enemy? My enemy is the dread of my strong self._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while since we've had a chapter with 4 parts! Although this time we reached the end of part 4 with the start of a conflict rather than with a conclusion. Most of Saint Snow's arc has been very flashback heavy, but I felt like all of it was very necessary information, not only for this arc but for the story as a whole and for everything that is going to happen from now on. 
> 
> Today is the day the final episode of Love Live! Sunshine!! aired and I just want to mention I'm really grateful for this franchise. I love the characters a lot which is what drove me to write this story in the first place. 
> 
> This is also the last update of the year! I can't believe I've been writing this story for almost half a year now. Whether you've been here from the very beginning, joined midway or decided to binge-read everything and got here now, I'm really thankful to know you've taken the time to read my work! I hope you've enjoyed the story so far, I'll be counting with your support! 
> 
> And above all, I hope you have a great new year and that 2018 is full of good things for you! ☆


	28. Gateway - Part 1

Chika stared at the figure that had appeared before them. Just by looking at the expression in Seira’s face, the way she walked forward, the aura coming out from her, she could tell she was full of determination. Chika could immediately tell this wasn’t a confrontation that would end so easily. 

The orange haired girl clenched her fist ready to give a step forward and approach her enemy but-

“Huh?”

Seira had completely disappeared from her field of vision. It was all in just an instant. Seira had teleported behind her. The purple haired girl’s body moved fast without needing time to pick up momentum. Her arm was already flying at full speed towards Chika’s back while charged up with electricity. As Chika turned around, Dia and Kanan began running towards Seira’s direction, they were only a few meters away to begin with. 

A loud noise resounded the moment of impact. 

Chika had turned around, using her arm to block the attack, but was still blown away by the discharge of electricity. Or that’s what she thought at first. She could only feel the motion of her body moving around but the moment the impact hit, Seira was quick to hold onto Chika’s shirt. She then swung her arm, teleporting Chika away and throwing her body all the way against Mari who wasn’t prepared. Following her momentum, Seira ran, letting her fingertips make contact with Dia’s sword. That alone was enough to teleport the alchemist away. 

Barely able to catch up on what happened, Dia stomped her feet against the ground with force to stop herself from charging forward, her blade was barely able to stop millimeters away from Kanan’s neck. 

And just like that, Seira’s body had disappeared from everyone’s field of vision again. 

“ _What?!_ ” Mari yelled as Chika rolled to the side, letting her stand up again. “What was that?!”

“It’s void magic.” Chika replied. She was clearly in pain and smoke was coming out of her arm. “It’s the same thing she used to teleport us here.”

“This is rather troublesome.” Dia complained, glancing to her sides to search for her opponent. 

“Yeah.” Kanan took a deep breath, making sure to keep her distance from Dia’s blade. “If we are not careful she will use us to take care of each other.”

The four girls stood in silence, carefully trying to catch any kind of noise or movement that would give away Seira’s location. But she was nowhere to be seen. As the light of the moon reflected over the sea, the noise of a falling storm became louder as cold wind howled. With the storm growing in intensity, visibility lowered even more, trapping the girls in a cage of falling rain.

“I knew it.” Seira whispered into Chika’s ear before disappearing again. “If you can’t touch magic with your hands you can’t destroy it.” 

And then, a loud noise resounded, but by the time Chika’s mind had registered the noise, it was too late. After all, light is faster than sound. Silent, deadly and full of power, a massive blast of lightning descended from the heavens and towards Chika’s direction. It was lightning powerful enough to split the very earth in two and the noise afterwards suggested that it had made contact. 

But once she looked up to see, the attack had not reached her. Almost as if she had foreseen the attack through instinct, Mari had managed to fire a shot of plasma towards the sky. She didn’t need to have perfect aim for her attack to connect; after all Mari’s concentrated energy was much bigger and much more powerful. Mari’s attack completely consumed the lightning and illuminated all of the area around them for a few seconds, enough to give Kanan and Dia time to start acting. 

Kanan kicked the ground, she was going to put the environment around them to good use. Infusing her magic with the rain and letting it make contact with the lake in just an instant, a massive wave jumped high up in their direction. The wave was high enough to cover the very light of the moon and engulf everything in its path. The blue ponytail girl then ran towards the other girls in order to regroup with only seconds before her own attack landed. 

That’s when Dia’s role came in. Using her alchemy, she created a small dome made of the very earth below them, the dome was barely big enough for all four of them to fit inside and it protected them from Kanan’s devastating attack. No matter where Seira was hiding, this attack was guaranteed to hit a very large area. 

Without being able to see anything within the darkness of the dome, the girls braced for impact as Kanan’s wave collided. The scene looked just like a large Tsunami hitting the land, raising up the water level so much that the dome where the girls were was submerged underwater, drowning out the sound of the storm outside. 

“Chika.” Dia whispered towards the orange haired girl. “Where are the mythril gloves?” 

“I left them at the hotel!” Chika responded with regret. She had not anticipated she would be stuck in this kind of situation so suddenly. 

“Shh!!” Kanan made a gesture for them to stay silent as Mari lighted up the area inside the dome with her magic. 

She knew that the attack she had launched was devastating and powerful. If Seira had remained there to take it head on her chance for survival was low, but Kanan knew Seira wasn’t the kind to fight fair and square. She had run away last time back at the forest and her power could have allowed her to easily dodge the attack. The area inside the dome was tiny and cramped; on top of that it was currently under water so she knew Seira wouldn’t take as big of a risk as teleporting inside there. And as long as the water level was up, she couldn’t approach them from outside so easily either. In other words, the moment the water level lowered and regulated itself again, she would definitely appear. That would be their chance. 

However, assuming they would have been safe there, even if just for a short period of time, had been a mistake. All they could hear was the roaring sound of thunder, but they had no way to know what happened outside. Seira had released a powerful blast of magic that tore apart the very lake in half, opening up a clear path for her to reach the dome where the girls were hiding. 

Seira dashed towards the place where the other girls were without hesitation, as she did, spears of lightning began dancing around her in the form of an arc. Following her command, the spears all stabbed deep into the dome and Seira could tell they had stabbed into solid flesh. Yet, that wasn’t the end to her relentless attack. She had started running towards the dome for a reason, and as she ran, magic started to gather in the palm of her hand. 

Slamming her hand against the dome of earth with all her strength, a giant spear of lightning pierced the dome in an instant. The damage should have been fatal, but the spear was then broken apart with the sound of distorting space. As the dome fell apart, Seira was able to see the state the other girls were in. They had definitely taken damage, the previous spears of light had stabbed into their arms and legs, however, the final attack had been intercepted by Chika. 

All the orange haired girl had done was to take a wild guess and push her hand against the wall of the dome in the direction where the sound of steps came from. The moment the giant spear of lightning made contact, the magic was broken but Chika was still hit by the recoil. She could feel a burning sensation in her hand and wasn’t too confident on taking another attack like that one. 

As Seira dispelled her lightning spears, blood began to ooze out of the spot where the girls had been wounded, but even still, none of them were about to give up. Seira could feel the strong gazes from their opponents and she could feel their determination. They weren’t about to go down so easy.

“Stay back.” Kanan spoke towards Chika as she took a step forward along with Dia. 

Chika clenched her fist in frustration and answered with a faint nod. Even with the ability to dispel magic Seira’s attacks were too fast and random, she had no way to counter it without getting seriously injured. On the other hand, it looked like the other girls had a plan. Chika could see Dia and Kanan staring at Mari for just a second and that was all it took for them to communicate their intent. 

Seira gave a step forward, ready to launch her next attack, her intent had been to teleport away and confuse them like before but she found herself unable to move. Water had circled around her leg and taken a solid grasp of it while instantly freezing up. This was thanks to Dia throwing her gems into the lake, using the water as her medium for her alchemy. Seira was caught off guard and the frozen whip of water that had captured her leg began pulling her at full speed towards Dia’s direction. That’s when Seira noticed Kanan dashing at her. Even if the storm worked to Seira’s advantage and helped power up her lightning magic, it made Kanan much more dangerous in this kind of environment. Kanan’s fist flew across the air, running towards Seira at full force but it was never able to make contact. 

Seira instead, had used her own magic to burn her own leg with lightning and break apart the ice in the process. This allowed her to duck in order to dodge Kanan who couldn’t stop herself from moving forward thanks to the momentum. Lightning spears flew from behind Seira but they were all sent flying across the air by Dia who hurled her blade as it was infused by a gem. Dia’s sword flew across the air like a boomerang and returned to Dia’s hand safely. 

Now that she was free, Seira was quick to teleport, trying to reach for Dia’s blind spot. She was ready to deliver a strong attack, stabbing a lightning spear into Dia’s back but something threw her off. The moment she stepped behind Dia she was able to see the truth of their strategy. Standing a few meters behind, keeping her distance as much as possible, Mari stood while holding her gun. She was making sure to take a good aim at Seira as her gun continued to charge up with light. 

Energy gathered inside Mari’s weapon, devastating energy that was powerful enough to end this fight in one hit. Mari’s energy was pulsating; making the very earth tremble and making the very rain avoid her as though she was protected by a dome of light. 

Knowing she would be in trouble if this attack connected Seira tried to flee but the few seconds where her thoughts wavered would cost her a lot. It had been enough time for Dia and Kanan to take action again. 

Chika couldn’t help but stare in awe at the perfect coordination that this trio had. Every single one of their moves was exact and methodical. It was almost like they could tell exactly what the other was thinking and act accordingly all while reading their enemy. 

Kanan stomped her foot into the ground, making water shoot up, blasting Seira’s body high into the sky. This was followed by another large wave of water that began shooting up, just like last time. However, this time Dia hurled her gems at the lake, making the wave explode with a golden light and letting a rain of icicles shoot up towards Seira from all directions.

“ _Okay, Chika!”_ Mari’s voice yelled. “Dodge!!”

Barely able to react, Chika threw herself to the ground as Mari unleashed a massive blast of energy from her gun. The attack had been so powerful that Mari’s gun had broken into pieces the moment the concentrated plasma shot towards Seira. Mari’s body was sent flying back with the recoil and the blast of energy engulfed Seira in midair. 

Chika opened her eyes wide by seeing such a vast display of power. The attack had been so massive it connected all the way to the skies, blasting away the clouds and making the storm stop in an instant. The land was illuminated by an eerie purple light, making everything look as clear as daytime. And Seira had been struck directly. She had been rendered helpless against the combined effort of the powerful trio. 

Mari sighed with regret. She knew there was no way anyone could survive this. It had been a decisive battle against a strong opponent that could have ended their lives in an instant; she knew she couldn’t hold back. There was no other choice. 

“I have to commend you for your determination.” And yet, a voice spoke in a calm tone. “I didn’t want it to get to this, but you are deserving of a proper death.”

Even while faced against such a strong adversity, even while pushed against a corner with no way out, Seira’s spirit wouldn’t give up so easily. She couldn’t give up here. She had to save someone. She had to accomplish her goal at all costs. She had to stop these people from ever reaching Tokyo no matter what it took. 

And so, as the purple light casted by Mari’s magic vanished away, the moonlight illuminated a figure that stood on top of the ocean. It illuminated Seira who glared at them with anger in her eyes. Her purple hair was tied to the side with a white ribbon decorated with a pink flower. She wore a black vest with pink in the middle and white frills which was decorated by a black ribbon around her neck. Her left hand had a black glove that went all the way up to her arm and a belt was in place on top of her frilly white skirt.  
As the images of her opponents reflected on her violet eyes, she spoke with a desicive tone.

_“Idolization: SELF CONTROL!!”_

Looking at the events unfolding before her, for a moment, Chika felt absolute despair. She was facing an unbreakable will, an unbreakable spirit that had given birth to this power. At that moment, she couldn’t help but wonder why Seira was going so far. What was driving her to this extent? But above all Chika remembered she had her own reasons for fighting her. She had her own circumstance which had driven her this far. And right now, even while faced against this, she spoke the biggest worry in her heart out loud.

“I have to save Riko, no matter what.” 

As if the very sky itself had exploded, a massive burst of lightning that encompassed everything engulfed Chika’s vision.

☆

Silence had fallen inside a room in the building of an old hotel. The princess remained on the floor, lifeless. Next to her, Hanamaru held a girl’s wrist as she looked into her eyes.

“W-What are you saying?” Yohane looked at her nervously.

“I’m sorry, zura.” Hanamaru closed her eyes for a moment. “But we don’t have the leisure to wait, therefore, I command you to awaken, Yohane.”

“Heh, is that so?” The tone of her voice changed into a much deeper, sinister voice. The look in her face had changed as well. Even if she looked the same, it was as if an entirely new presence had descended into the room. “The celestial is asking for help from me, a demon?”

With a sudden and fast movement, Fallen Angel Yohane shot forward. Her fingers wrapped around Hanamaru’s neck as she slammed her into the wall, her nails slowly burying into her skin. 

“This… isn’t the time for that, zura.” Hanamaru had difficulty keeping her breath but she spoke with no fear in her voice. Instead, she placed her hands on top of Yohane’s, using all of her strength to struggle. “If we don’t hurry, Riko… is going to die.”

Without giving her a response or letting go of her, Fallen Angel Yohane glared at the fallen princess, staring at her for a few seconds as if lost in thought.

“Hmph.” She let go of Hanamaru and turned her back on her, approaching Riko slowly this time. “And why should I help? What do I gain from this?” 

“I know, zura.” Hanamaru coughed as she struggled to stand up from the floor.

“Hm?”

“I know even you have grown to make friends and get fond of others. I’ve seen it, zura. And I know they are Yoshiko’s friends, too. So that’s why… you won’t let her die.” 

“Friends? Did you truly think you were going to convince me with something as trivial as that? Me?”

As she spoke, orbs of light began spinning around Yohane’s back as a magic circle appeared at her feet. Light of red color started to gather in her hands, ready to launch a powerful magic attack towards Hanamaru.

“I do think so.” Hanamaru whispered, slowly raising her voice until it turned into a screaming. “I know you don’t want to see Yoshiko hurt, so I do think so!! You will save her friends because you want to protect her!! So stop giving me that stupid attitude and cooperate with me, zura!!!!”

Looking away with an angry glare, the powerful magic light surrounding Yohane began to disperse. She sat on the floor while glaring at Hanamaru and finally spoke after letting out a heavy sigh.

“This will cost you greatly.” Yohane threatened her. “So? What do you want?”

“I need knowledge to begin with, zura. I want to know what is happening to her. It’s as though she is still alive but her body shows no sign of life, yet I can still feel some of her presence.” 

Fallen Angel Yohane brought a hand to her chin and examined Riko without changing her uninterested expression. 

“This is Soul Break. It’s a rare condition that happens when the connection between your body and your soul is severed.”

“Soul Break?”

“Mmhm. Oh, something similar occurred centuries ago, didn’t it? How did humans name it… Heart Glass syndrome?”

As Yohane began to explain the details behind Riko’s condition, unknown to them at the time, a battle was about to break just outside the building. 

 

Soon after You and Ruby had stepped out, they had encountered Ria. The younger Kazuno sister had activated her earth magic in order to make the entire area start descending deep below, leaving the hotel behind. 

Decided to take down her enemy before it was too late, You Watanabe steeled herself and ran towards her target as the very ground below her feet continued to sink down. 

Thanks to Ria’s magic Ruby found herself powerless. Just like the time it happened back at the maze, whenever an area was under Ria’s control she was unable to use that environment in order to activate her alchemy. On top of that, after seeing what happened to Riko, she knew that approaching Ria carelessly was dangerous, and yet, in this situation where they continued to move further and further down into the earth, they didn’t have the leisure to come up with a strategy.

Ria tilted her head and stared at You without showing any kind of expression. Up until now neither of them had been able to experience the true extent of her abilities on a direct combat so there was no telling of what she could do. 

Letting out her magic, bubbles began to swirl all around You’s body and with a wave of her arm they launched like projectiles towards Ria at full speed. Ria stared at the magical attack that came her way but it was never able to reach her. The bubbles simply popped up and broke apart in midair. 

“Wha-!?”

“R-Ruby couldn’t see anything!! Ruby couldn’t see her activate any kind of magic so how?!”

“You seem to misunderstand.” Ria finally spoke. “This place is already my magic field. I don’t need to activate anything, my magic was already active since long ago. You already lost the moment you stepped here.”

Ruby slowly stepped back. Ria’s last words made her heart beat even faster. She spoke with a lot of confidence and simply standing on a land that continued to descend further and further was already telling of her power. She looked up as if still trying to find an escape route, but the hotel was already almost out of sight.

“I told you, didn’t I?” All Ria did was to give one step forward. “You should worry about yourself first.”

One step forward, it was a very simple motion. When faced against an enemy it was important to be wary, but most of the time it was easy to tell when they activated their magic. In this case however, Ria had absolute freedom. And just like that, thousands of thorns shot up from below the ground, completely covering that field. It was just like the attack that had wounded Riko badly before, but it was much more powerful and on a much bigger scale. 

The attack had happened so suddenly that Ruby was not given a single second to react. All she could do was to close her eyes tightly as the thorn-like spikes emerged at full force. 

But the impact never came. The only thing Ruby could feel was a chilling sensation reaching her skin. 

The entire field had become frozen solid, and the moment it did, it stopped descending as well. 

You breathed heavily as she stood up. She had punched the ground with a lot of force and allowed her magic to explode, completely freezing Ria’s attack while taking away the field advantage she had. 

“I knew it.” You whispered under her breath. “Ever since I used that gem, I’ve been able to use my magic like this as well but…” She fell down on her knees. “This is exhausting.”

She had gained an advantage but that didn’t mean the enemy would have mercy. This time, Ria was going for a direct attack. She moved at an unbelievable speed as she approached You, a bright yellow light was gathering on the palm of her hand.

Ruby’s body moved before she could even think about it. She knew that You was in no condition to dodge that attack so easily. She was acting without even stopping to reason what she was doing. Her hand reached for a frozen spike and with her alchemy, she tore it off the ground and launched it towards Ria. The ice changed shape midair, becoming a massive solid block of steel that would crush Ria in an instant. 

In order to defend herself, Ria redirected her attack towards the mass of steel, clenching her fist she released a powerful punch and a hole was tore on the steel, slightly pushing You and Ruby away by the sheer air pressure. 

Seeing the extent of that attack was terrifying, if that attack connected there was no coming back from that, they would have ended up just like that block of steel or worse. 

As the remains of the steel block flew across the air, in the distance, they could see a massive wave rise up into the skies and collide down into the ground. Both You and Ruby felt a somber sensation run down their spine. Were Chika and the others there? But they had no chance to check let alone go to help them either. After all, Ria had still taken no damage. If anything, her energy was only growing stronger and the light of her magic had started to gather around the palm of her hand again. 

This time she ran forward straight into Ruby’s direction. The young alchemist reached for another frozen torn, turning it into a massive ice projectile to try and defend herself. But massive strength wasn’t all Ria could do. She was extremely agile and fast. She jumped high up, jumped on top of the flying ice spear in order to ascend even higher, and then shot at Ruby at full speed. 

You let out a scream as she ran in Ruby’s direction and the red pigtail girl didn’t have the speed to dodge the attack. But she wasn’t taken down. Ria’s blow had landed on the solid floor, just millimeters away from Ruby.

“Did she miss…?” You asked inside her mind but then her eyes opened wide once she realized something. “No, she didn’t miss! She-!”

“Since the two of you are so obsessed with concerning yourself for others, I’ll give you a reason to worry.”

The light of Ria’s magic spread across the ground. It was like looking at the roots of a tree or the pattern of a leaf. The light continued to spread across the walls of stone that surrounded them and then wrapped around the hotel building. Multiple vines of light started squeezing the building, slowly taking it apart as the building itself began to be pulled down underground.

“T-That’s where Maru and Yoshiko are!” Ruby pointed out nervously. 

The ice surrounding the place had started to fall apart and the terrain was slowly changing into Ria’s favor again.

“This isn’t the time for my body to be giving out on me.” You slammed her fists against her legs and forced herself to stand up and move again. “Let’s do this Ruby, full speed ahead!!” 

“Y-Yeah!!”

“Ridiculous.” Ria muttered. “I’m already tired of this, so let me end it. My next attack will be the final one.”

 

Just a few moments before this, Hanamaru continued to listen to the explanation of Riko’s illness. She had listened careful to everything Fallen Angel Yohane had to say, but there was something that still bothered her a lot.

“Wait a moment, zura.”

“What now?”

“Heart Glass Syndrome, it’s common if this develops on people who were never able to use magic to begin with, but Riko has even managed to use the Love Gem. Shouldn’t she be immune to this?”

“She “should” have.” Yohane shrugged. “But it’s not impossible. After all, the trigger to this illness isn’t lack of magic but to experience heavy emotions. She must have experienced something so heavy it broke right through her magic, nullifying her immunity to this.”

“Then what do we do, zura? I can’t use healing magic on a soul, and no matter how much I heal her body it will be useless.” 

“This is why you celestials are really stupid.” Yohane yawned. “Didn’t you say it yourself? This human has used a Love Gem before.”

“Zura?”

“Don’t tell me… you don’t even know what Love Gems do?!”

“…Zura…?”

“Listen!!” Fallen Angel Yohane raised her voice while speaking in her serious tone. “You can think of Love Gems as tools to control and possess souls.”

“Control and possess souls…?” 

“Exactly, they are windows into other worlds. I have experienced their power firsthand so I would know.” Yohane started to explain. “The world as we know it is made by a lot of different layers and realities. What kind of power did this girl use, Aquarium? That just means she is borrowing power from a reality where that kind of power is commonplace, just like the way regular magic is common here.” 

“I’m lost, zura. What does that have to do with controlling and possessing souls?”

“This is why I can’t stand celestials.” Yohane scratched her head in frustration. “Listen! If there are many realities, that also means there are many versions of us. For example in one reality we could be living in a world with nothing but water, where the power of Aquarium has flourished to its max potential. Alternatively, there could even be world where magic doesn’t exist. But even if it doesn’t we still exist there. We may be living there, living a normal life. We could even be doing something completely different, like composing music rather than going on a journey through the world.” 

“So there’s as many of us as there are universes. Is that it, zura?” 

“Exactly. But this is why you have to call out an idolization when you use a Love Gem. You are stating out loud the name of the core power you are taking, you are taking the power of a different universe in your hands. However, in other to take that power, there is still a requirement. Your other “you” must still be alive in the universe they are taking power from. They may have no recollection or consciousness of it, but the moment you borrow that power, you are merging your very soul with the soul of the “you” from that universe. That’s what I mean by controlling and possessing souls.”

“If we were to simplify it… zura. That means Love Gems can take a soul and sync it with your body, is that right?” 

“Exactly.” Yohane nodded. “Using a Love Gem is no easy task. Normally, you can’t cure someone from this even if you gave them a thousand gems, but if she was able to use one before, it could be possible.”

“Then-!” 

Hanamaru reached for her pocket. She had the gem she had received from the forest. Up until now, she had no need to use that gem so it was fully charged and ready to use.

“Wait.” Yohane stopped her the moment she saw her approaching Riko. “It’s not so easy. If you truly want to save this mortal, there is something that only I can do.”

“Zura?”

“Even if a gem can help sync her body with her soul, she can’t activate the process if she isn’t conscious. Unless… I were to possess her body and force the process.”

Hanamaru remained silent for a moment. It sounded like a perfect solution, she knew that Fallen Angel Yohane would have been able to it, but that is also why it was risky. Because she wasn’t an entity that could be taken so lightly. Even if she was helping her right now she was still extremely dangerous. But that wasn’t all there was to it. 

“What happens to Yoshiko, zura?”

“We are separate entities but we are still one soul. As long as I don’t die she should survive as well.” Yohane bit her thumb frustrated. She had made it sound easy but she was well aware that wasn’t the case. “Activating a Love Gem and forcing her soul into her body isn’t so simple. If I stay inside for longer than a second after it activates properly, our soul may be consumed. But if I leave too early before it activates, the Love Gem will be consumed and this human will die.”

Hanamaru stared silently at Riko and then at Yohane. This was something beyond risky, part of her made her want to stop it but if they didn’t do anything at all, someone would still die.

“Why the long face?” Yohane stared at her and laughed. “Weren’t celestials supposed to hate us demons? And besides… who do you think you are talking to? I won’t fail.” 

Having said this, Fallen Angel Yohane forcefully grabbed the gem from Hanamaru’s hand and rushed towards Riko. The entire room was covered with a powerful, blinding light. There was no stopping the process now. All Hanamaru could do was to believe in her and wait. But that’s when the very earth below her feet started to tremble violently. 

“What is going on Zura?!” 

Hanamaru ran towards the window only to see the building slowly getting pulled underground. The ground continued to shake, furniture started falling off and sound of shattering glass spread through the building. Immediately after, vines shrouded by yellow earth magic began to enter the room through the windows and from the door, they started to spread and then they shot towards the spot where Riko and Yohane stood while shrouded in blinding light. 

The short brunette let out a scream ready to activate her magic but the vines had already reached her, grabbing her leg and slamming her into the floor before she could react. At this rate, if Yohane failed, there would be no turning back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I ended up putting this update up a little later than expected! This chapter drops a lot of heavy exposition and world building. I'm sure it also raises a lot of questions but I can promise you you'll get answers to everything sooner or later!


	29. Gateway - Part 2

Earth magic engulfed the old hotel building as it was dragged down into the earth. As the magic spread, some of it started to leak into the building, engulfing everything inside. And as Fallen Angel Yohane initiated her possession to save Riko, an attack flew directly towards them. 

Hanamaru looked at the scene before her while down against the floor. She could not see Yohane or Riko as both were shrouded by a powerful light created by Yohane’s magic. She had no time to grab her book and channel her magic properly and it was likely that even if she did anything it was too late. Nevertheless, this didn’t stop her from taking action. 

Hanamaru let out a burst of magic as her hands pressed against the trembling floor. A great bright light exploded across the room, tearing apart the vines and taking over Ria’s magic. After all, Hanamaru was an earth magic specialist as well. Pouring every last bit of power, Hanamaru’s magic stopped the very earth from moving and the hotel came to a stop as well. 

Now that she was freed from the vines, Hanamaru stood up while short of breath. At that moment, she quickly realized something else had changed inside that room as well. 

The temperature suddenly dropped greatly. The room had become freezing cold and Hanamaru could even feel her hands slightly shaking. 

She quickly rose up her head in order to look at Yohane as the light surrounding the room was vanishing away. 

_Crash_

Hanamaru jumped up startled by a very loud noise in the room before she could even realize what happened. Yohane’s body had been sent flying at full speed until it crashed against the wall with a lot of force. 

The short brunette was quick to run towards her and check on her, still not realizing what happened.

“This is bad.” Fallen Angel Yohane spoke as she slowly pulled herself up, completely ignoring the injuries in her body after the impact. 

Listening to this tone of voice, and the malicious aura that came from her, Hanamaru had no doubt that this was indeed Fallen Angel Yohane. But seeing this expression of worry in her face made Hanamaru instantly panic with fear. At that very moment, even if she didn’t see, Hanamaru could feel something was off. She could feel a much more terrifying presence behind her. She could feel incredible pressure that stopped her from even wanting to turn around.

“What are you doing?” Fallen Angel Yohane stared into Hanamaru’s eyes. “Run!”

“?!!”

Wind. 

That was what enveloped Hanamaru’s entire body, a somber and powerful wind that rapidly spread across the room swaying her long hair from side to side.

“Tch.” 

Hanamaru’s body was rapidly flung to the side by the fallen angel who stepped forward. Dark and dense fog-like shadows swirled around Yohane’s body as a wheel of spinning lights appeared behind her back. The shadows made of miasma solidified while taking the shape of wings that spread in front of her, acting like a shield. In that moment a great impact crashed against the wings, breaking them apart with a loud noise as Yohane’s body was sent flying into the wall once more.

That is when Hanamaru finally saw the source of the incoming attack. 

The girl with long wine-red hair sat in the middle of the room, as if suspended in midair with her legs crossed. She wore a fancy long coat of pink and white color with golden decorations and long boots. Her head was adorned by a strange hat which had the shape of a shining crown with pure white feathers attached to it while decorated by pink crystals. Her long hair was tied into a long braid. But what stood out the most to Hanamaru were two things: pink fox-like ears on top of her head and shining bottles containing liquid of different colors swirling around her body.

She sat high atop the air, resting her head on the palm of her hand. This meant that Yohane had succeeded, Riko had in fact woken up, but something was off. The person before her radiated an incredible dangerous pressure. 

Looking at the way the bottles moved around, Hanamaru could tell right away that the source of the swirling wind inside the room was Riko. 

“What happened…?” Hanamaru whispered under her breath. 

She didn’t know how to react. All she could do was to give a step back, completely unable to look away from the girl whose eyes glared at her, cold eyes that looked down on her. 

“Remember what I told you?” Fallen Angel Yohane stood up once more. “Calling an idolization means merging with a soul from a different reality. But you can’t choose the reality at will so easily, you could say it happens at random.”

“Random?!”

“Yes, but since I was the one who called it out, my power must have called a “Riko” from a dangerous world, a force our Riko clearly can’t control.”

“Are you done talking?” Riko yawned. She had a boring and uninterested expression. 

“W-Wait, zura!” Hanamaru couldn’t accept this situation. “Why are you attacking us?! There’s no point to this!!”

“Hm, that expression in your face. That terror coming out of you.” Riko stared at Hanamaru. She answered her question with a smile and a mocking happy tone. “It’s fun~”

“Heh, I summoned quite the little demon.” Fallen Angel Yohane laughed. “I like you. If we met under different circumstances I’m sure we would get along just fine.”

Hanamaru couldn’t do anything but to slowly step back further and further away. The situation was rapidly getting out of hand as two powerful forced faced each other. It was an encounter that shouldn’t have happened in this world, it was something that may even shatter it apart and it was happening right before her very eyes. 

“We would get along just fine, but…” The fallen angel dashed forward as she whispered under her breath. “I can’t allow you to put her in danger.”

This time instead of using her wings as a shield, they shot forward towards Riko like giant blades. They shattered apart the very floor of the building along with the roof, making rubble start to fall off all around them. The wings moved at an incredible speed but they could never reach Riko. They came to a sudden stop. All the long haired girl had to do was to grasp them with her hand. She had casually stopped Yohane’s devastating attack, taking hold of her wings with her fingers like it was nothing. 

With a single swing of her hand, Riko was able to lift Fallen Angel Yohane from the ground and send her crashing against what remained of the roof, but this was just the start of her attack. Without letting go of the firm grasp on her wings, she pulled her down, slamming her into the floor and as she pulled her back up she flicked two fingers into the air, releasing a massive blast of wind that would break apart her body in an instant. 

Yohane was quick to retaliate using a surge of water magic, but it was all swallowed up by Riko’s wind. Without time for any other options, all she could do was to brace herself for impact but this is when a figure stepped before her. 

Hanamaru stepped forward, with her book now in her hands. Releasing all of her magic at once, she countered Riko’s attack with a destructive cannon of concentrated earth magic. The very earth pulsated as both attacks collided against each other and exploded. Hanamaru and Yohane were sent flying back thanks to the recoil. After such a powerful attack, Hanamaru’s magic which stopped Ria’s attack up till now faded away, allowing the now collapsing building to start descending further into the earth once more.

“This is terrible.” Fallen Angel Yohane coughed as she struggled to get up. Her legs were trembling and the spinning lights behind her back were all fading away. “Possessing someone drains my power greatly; even I can’t keep this up in this state.”

Unlike her depleted and fading magic, Riko’s powers were still going at full force. This time many blasts of multi-colored light came from all directions, shooting from the bottles that swirled around the long haired girl. With Hanamaru passed out on the floor, there was no one that could save her now. The attack flew towards Yohane and connected, lifting up a lot of rubble and dust as the building was broken apart even more upon impact. 

“Heh.” Fallen Angel Yohane laughed. “For a demon who brings misfortune, to find these now of all times, how ironic.”

The dust was all blown away. A powerful dark aura exploded, completely surrounding the fallen angel’s body. The source of the black aura came from a pair of gloves that were now in her hands. What flowed out of those gloves was something the fallen angel was very familiar with, dark matter. It was the mysterious and powerful energy that she was easily lured towards. 

The power that remained inside the gloves was just leftovers from the time Chika had used them, but it was still enough to give her the boost she needed. 

As she wore the mythril gloves, the dark matter boosted up her energy, allowing the spinning wheels of light to appear behind her back once more. She would not give her opponent a single opening, she had to utilize this chance and break through. Words came out of her mouth, words in a strange, ancient language that no one could understand, words that not even the world itself could comprehend. 

It only took a second, a large magic circle covered her feet and as all the lights came together a strange magic released a powerful silver explosion that engulfed the entire room. 

For the first time, Riko was forced to stand up and use her arms to cover herself. The sound of breaking glass resounded as her bottles all broke apart in an instant.

“This is… the most I can do for now.” The fallen angel whispered while out of breath. “It’s all up to you now, other me.” 

Fallen Angel Yohane’s presence faded away and Yohane opened her eyes wide. 

It almost felt like suddenly waking up from a long dream. Her body felt heavy and her breathing was suddenly unsteady. She had no grasp on what the situation was but she could immediately feel the earth rumbling under her feet and a powerful wind current swirling around the room. 

“Z-Zuramaru?!” She ran towards the girl who lied down on the floor collapsed. 

“Hm?” Riko brought a hand to her chin. “Where did that girl go?”

The instant Yohane turned around, she was engulfed by an incredible pressure. Cold eyes were glaring at her. The person before her had an uninterested expression but a strange malice emanated from her. All of Yohane’s senses were telling her to run away but at the same time they were telling her to fight back.

“Not that I mind.” Riko shrugged. “Your terror is really fun as well!”

As if by reflex, Yohane threw herself to the floor, barely managing to avoid a powerful wind arrow that crashed into the solid earth wall behind her. 

“R-Riko?! What are you doing?!”

“What does it seem like to you?” 

Multiple arrows of wind shot from all directions towards Yohane. Knowing she couldn’t rely on her roulette magic, she slammed her foot into the ground, letting a large wall of fire rise up. Contrary to what she expected, the magic she let out was a lot more powerful than she intended, powerful enough to block Riko’s attack. 

That’s when Yohane noticed the pair of gloves she was wearing. It was gloves she could recognize, and even though she couldn’t tell why, she could feel a great power coming out of them and boosting her magic.

“Oh?” 

Riko tilted her head confused. No matter how strong Yohane’s magic was, to her, this was nothing compared to the opponent she was just fighting, so how did she stop her attack? But the moment she looked at her own hands, she could tell why. She could see her own image slowly fading away. Reaching for her pocket, she pulled out a small pink gem, the one that Yohane used to bring up this idolization in the first place.

“That is-?!” Yohane stepped back. The images in her head were blurry but she could remember the moment she had seen Dia use one very clear. “A Love Gem?!”

Riko ignored Yohane’s surprise and talked to herself out loud. She didn’t consider Yohane a threat at all anymore. 

“Is this one running out of juice?” Riko reached for her pocket again, this time pulling out a darkened out gem. “That’s okay. I also have this one after all.”

Holding the darkened out gem in her hands, Riko clenched her fist and a shining light spread, covering the entire area around the hotel. Once Riko opened the palm of her hand once more, the gem was shining bright. It had been completely restored in an instant. 

The moment Yohane saw her holding the second Love Gem, her senses were screaming at her even more to escape. If a single gem had given her this much power, using another one would mean the end. But this is why, she couldn’t let this happen. She didn’t know why did it come down to this, she couldn’t understand what was happening at all. But seeing Hanamaru hurt like this, seeing someone she saw as a friend radiating so much malice. She couldn’t stand it. 

Yohane was scared, she was terrified, she couldn’t even bring herself to say anything or put up her usual act. Instead, she dashed forward.

“Riiiiiikoooooooo!!!!!!!!!!”

Yohane screamed at the top of her lungs. Her entire body was enveloped by powerful flames as she dashed forward, her hand extended out towards Riko, trying to stop her at all costs. She couldn’t allow her to activate that gem. 

But in the end, misfortune would always follow her. 

Riko’s grin reflected on her eyes as the gem let out a powerful glow, covering the room with absolute light.

☆

Declaring she would end it with the next attack, Ria charged towards the You and Ruby. She had the absolute advantage in terms of speed, raw power and magic power.

Feeling completely drained after using ice magic, You’s body was moving by using determination alone. On the other hand, Ruby’s alchemy was completely sealed while inside Ria’s magic field. She had no means to fight back properly, but that didn’t stop her from moving forward. She didn’t know what she could do, but even then, Ruby was ready to fight with all her might. After all, Ruby wasn’t fighting only for herself. She was fighting to save her friends, and that was enough for her to put her life on the line. 

Earth magic gathered on Ria’s hands as she launched a punch that could open a hole even through solid metal. You knew that taking that attack head on was very dangerous so she shot out a barrage of bubble bullets that blocked Ria’s vision. 

The purple pigtail girl’s punch broke through You’s attack with an explosive noise but that was enough time for them to act. Contrary to what she expected, the one standing beyond the barrier of bubbles wasn’t You, it was Ruby. Even then, Ria’s punch continued to move towards her, carried by the momentum. Not intending to dodge, Ruby launched herself towards Ria. 

With a great noise, Ria’s charged up punch connected directly but Ruby was not torn apart. 

“?!” 

Ria tried to jump away startled, but Ruby had gotten a tight grasp on her arm.

“R…Ruby did it.” 

The red pigtail girl spoke with difficulty. Even though she couldn’t use alchemy on the field around her, there was still something she could use as material. Her own clothes. At the cost of making them heavy, she had hardened her clothes as much as she could to protect herself from Ria’s impact. But even then, her attack had been so devastating that Ruby could feel all of the air leave her lungs. She felt as though her body would collapse in just an instant but she held unto Ria’s arm tightly, not letting her go no matter how much she struggled.

Clicking her tongue, Ria threw a punch using her free hand to shake Ruby away but she had forgotten Ruby wasn’t her only opponent. Approaching her from behind, You hit Ria on the back of her neck before her second punch could connect against Ruby. The last thing she could see was the determined expression of the red pigtail girl as her consciousness faded away. 

With her earth magic instantly dispelled, the earth finally stopped moving. They had come down so far that they could barely see the sky in the distance anymore.

☆

Yohane moved forward, but she was too late. With a shining light, the Love Gem in Riko’s hand had been activated. Everything happened so fast that her mind couldn’t even catch up. Her body was flung away by a powerful current of wind and she could feel all air leaving her body as she was slammed with her back against the floor.

“Yoshi…ko…” Hanamaru spoke. Her body was badly tattered but her consciousness had returned. 

The brunette crawled on the ground, trying to reach Yohane who had collapsed close by.

The blue bun girl couldn’t even move or respond and Riko was already standing before her. With a grin on her face, Riko clenched her fist. A wave of swirling wind that tore apart the very space moved around her fist as it ran right towards Yohane’s face.

Yohane shut her eyes tightly, all she could do now was to brace herself from impact. And all Hanamaru could do was to watch without being able to make it in time. 

“N…No…” Riko whispered under her breath. 

Riko’s fist has stopped only millimeters away from Yohane. She could even feel the wind as it cut apart some strands of her hair. But as the earth below her stopped trembling, the wind swirling around the room came to a sudden halt as well.

“Stop.” 

Riko spoke with difficulty, her hand tightly grasping her chest as she stepped back. She struggled with all her force, falling to her knees and the power of the gems broke apart. Her clothes faded black to normal and the braid became undone, letting her long hair fall down freely.

Gasping for air with her eyes wide open, Riko stared at the floor as two blackened out gems fell to her side. 

“What was I… doing…?” Riko stared at own hands. 

Everything was blurry and it felt like everything was spinning. It had taken her every last bit of willpower to break apart from the power of the gem that was taking control, but in the end, she had succeeded. 

“Riko?” 

Yohane’s voice was trembling, still in fear from what she had experienced but she could tell that the strange pressure that came from Riko was gone. 

Finally making her way to where Yoshiko was, Hanamaru grasped the blue bun girl’s shoulders. She could feel her heart beating fast and cold sweat rolling down her forehead. 

But there was no reason to be scared anymore. It was finally over. They could tell that the Riko they knew was finally back.

“I’m sorry…” 

The wine-red haired girl didn’t even have the energy to speak as she collapsed, falling into Yohane and Hanamaru’s arms.

☆

Chika had no recollection of what happened. She was lying down on the cold ground with a tattered body, barely conscious. As she looked around, she could see the bodies of her friends collapsed as well. There was smoke coming out of their bodies and none of them showed signs of being able to move.

Whether she was spared by pure luck or saved by the power in her hands, it didn’t matter. Chika had no means to stand up against this enemy. She could see Seira standing before them with incredible power radiating out of her. She had been able to knock them all out in an instant.

But as her senses slowly returned, Chika could feel her fingers moving. She didn’t know how was she able to even move her body anymore, but she stood up. She could feel her left arm dangling in front of her completely dislocated and it wouldn’t have been surprising if she had many broken bones. She could barely feel her body, let alone do anything. But even then, she still stood up. 

The orange haired girl couldn’t even raise up her head but her eyes glanced at the figure before her.

“You are insane.” 

Seira laughed to herself. Seeing Chika stand up, trying to defy her, even after this, she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She couldn’t understand it. How was she still able to do this? Feigning to be dead would have been a much better choice in this kind of situation, but she still stood up. Even when faced against absolute despair, she didn’t even think of running away.

Seira knew there was no point to this fight anymore; she knew everything was as good as over. So, what was this feeling? Looking at the piercing gaze locked on her awoke some sort of fear inside her. Seeing someone with this kind of resolution intimidated her, it made her realize how weak her own willpower was even after everything she had gone through. It made her realize that if she had been the one in that situation she wouldn’t be able to pull it off. And even so, she knew it didn’t mean anything. She knew there was nothing this girl could do. So why? Why was she scared? Why did this unbreakable will scare her so much?

And then, with her broken body, Chika gave a step forward. 

Seira felt absolute hatred growing inside her. Hatred towards herself. Hatred towards not being able to be like this. Why was she scared? Why had she taken a step back the moment Chika moved closer? There was nothing to be scared about. She had access to a great power, power far beyond what this girl could reach. After all, that was the identity of the big wall before her. Power. That was the reason she couldn’t save Tsubasa, or anyone else, because she didn’t have the power to. That’s why she couldn’t stand up to them or do anything about it. So why could this girl still move forward even after all of this? It was incomprehensible, it was ridiculous. 

“Stay away.” Seira gave another step backwards. The entire sky started to glow as she began to charge the attack that would finish everything. “Stay away!!”

_“Good job, Seira.”_

A new voice spoke. A voice that forced Seira to stop her attack and shudder in fear. The voice of Erena from A-RISE spoke loud and clear, almost as if it had come from up in the skies. 

_“The members of the Liberation and a key for the Aquarium Project. You did a great job, so we will take over from here.”_

“W-W-Wait!!” Seira’s voice trembled. “You can’t!!”

The skies instantly darkened, but it was different than nighttime. A large, giant void had surrounded the skies and in an instant, everything began to be pulled towards it. As if being pulled by a magnet, Seira’s body flew towards the skies, followed by the bodies of the girls she had been fighting. In an instant, they had been swallowed up by the void in the heavens.

 

“Wait!” You looked around startled. “What is that?!”

Even though they could barely see the skies, You and Ruby could clearly listen to a voice that spoke from high above. Immediately afterwards, they started to feel as though they were being pulled by a strange force. 

Taking action fast and now that she could use her alchemy, Ruby made a barrier using the earth itself, sealing themselves underground and preventing the force from taking them away. She didn’t know what happened at the hotel either, so she had made sure to create a large and wide barrier very high up that would protect her friends if possible. 

They had managed to avoid being taken away but at that time they didn’t know this was just the beginning of what was to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've finally made it here! Starting next week, a much bigger new arc will begin, so I hope you look forward to it!! ☆


	30. To the City of Chaos

She had not lost consciousness but she was barely able to cling unto it as well. The girl with wine-red hair lied down on the floor. Her body felt heavy and she was exhausted. Hanamaru and Yohane sat down next to her, but their condition wasn’t any better. Both had taken really heavy damage from the last battle.

Despite all the events that had taken place in this room, something strange had happened as well. With most of the building being destroyed and the roof having fallen apart, if one were to look up, you could even get a good view of the sky despite the building itself having descended into the underground. But that wasn’t the case anymore. 

After the skies had darkened and a voice started to speak, they could feel a strange energy starting to pull them away but that stopped in an instant. With a loud sound it was as if the very earth itself had extended, blocking away the sky and trapping them down below. 

Riko however, couldn’t process what happened or think of what to do. Her thoughts were a jumbled mess. Many different images from all of the events up till now flashed before her with no real correlation. Different voices and words all appeared one after the other and it felt as though they were drowning her. Being back from Heart Glass Syndrome like that hadn’t been an easy solution to the problem. Even if the illness didn’t last for that long within her, it was still taking some time for her body to catch up. Not to mention she had used every last bit of willpower in order to break free from the power of the gem. Being alive after all of this was nothing short of a miracle. 

She slowly moved her head to the side. Everything was pitch black but she could faintly make out the faces of the girls who looked at her with concern. Finally, she was able to speak with a faint tone.

“What was I…?”

As it turned out, after all she had experienced, the memories of those events were extremely blurry. There were many faint images about her battle with Yohane, about fighting her hardest to regain control, but at the same time she couldn’t put her finger on what happened. It was like waking up from a dream and forgetting everything you had experienced in an instant. 

“It’s okay, zura.” A kind voice gave her an answer. “Everything is okay now.”

“W-We saved you from an eternal curse, so you better be grateful!”

“Yoshiko, why are you so embarrassed, zura?”

“Zuramaru! You stay silent!! I’m just tired, hmph!!!” 

Listening to the two of them interact like this brought a bit of relief to Riko. It almost felt like nothing had happened at all. That’s what she wanted to believe, but somewhere deep she felt uneasy. She felt like she didn’t want to forget this feeling, she didn’t want to forget those images floating in her head. It was frustrating, like having a word in the tip of your tongue but not remembering what that word was at all. So even if she couldn’t understand it, even if she couldn’t tell what it meant and what happened, she would still keep it in mind. 

And then, a sudden loud noise snapped her awake. Riko rapidly sat down. Despite how heavy her body felt, she realized she surprisingly had more energy than she expected. After all she hadn’t taken any heavy physical damage and her body had just been fueled by the power of two Love Gems.

Riko took a deep breath, trying to calm down. The noise she heard was the noise of an entire wall collapsing into the ground with a lot of force. As it was, most of the hotel had already been destroyed and part of the walls had fallen apart so it was no surprise this would happen. However, right after that noise, the room was slightly illuminated. 

Before they could realize it, the source of light was right before their eyes. 

You and Ruby stood on the other side of the collapsed wall. The red pigtail girl held an old-looking lamp in her hands. She was frozen in shock by looking at the state this building was in and seeing her friends who were visibly hurt. But above all, she was also in shock to realize Riko had finally woken up. 

The young sailor girl was in shock as well. She didn’t know what to expect once they reached the hotel. Looking at the incredible amount of destruction surrounding them, it was difficult to believe that all of this had been caused by Ria’s magic only. 

You and Ruby were fast to walk into the destroyed room. As they entered, Riko was able to notice You was carrying someone on her back. It was the young girl with purple pigtails. She wasn’t conscious at the moment, but the sight of her made Riko extremely uneasy. 

The gray haired girl put Ria down on the floor. Using Ruby’s alchemy, they had placed very heavy metal gloves on her hands and tied her fists together with a sturdy rope, this way she wouldn’t be able to use her magic even if she woke up.

As Ruby ran towards Hanamaru and Yohane, You walked towards Riko. 

The young sailor girl kneeled down, looking into Riko’s honey colored eyes. Realizing that she had been saved from a near death condition was a big relief. At that moment, You couldn’t even think of what to say. Instead, she embraced Riko, giving her a tight squeeze with all of her strength.

“Y-You?!”

“I’m so glad.” She didn’t need to think of what to say. She simply spoke her feelings out. “I’m so glad that you are okay.”

It was a strange feeling. Before this, even if she didn’t like to express it, You had been really wary about Riko. She never blamed her for what happened, but she couldn’t help but feel like something had been off. There were many things she had doubts about, like her memories being lost, or about how she was supposed to be a princess. But despite everything, she had also grown really fond of her. She had never gave it any proper thought, but this situation where Riko had been close to losing her life had made her realize how much she cared about her. 

Despite everything, she had also been a really reassuring presence. Riko may not have realized it, but her actions had affected You in many ways. Like the way she put herself at risk to save them the time they were attacked by a powerful dragon, the way she was prepared to be sacrificed and taken away to save everyone when they were confronted by Tsubasa, or the way she had supported You when she awakened the power of the gem. 

At first, she thought she only believed in Riko because Chika did, but now she had come to realize that wasn’t it. She had come to realize she believed in Riko, because it was Riko. 

This girl that had suddenly appeared one day was someone that she didn’t want to lose now. It was a scary thought and it was something You had been forced to experience a lot now. She had been forced to realize how much she cared about the people around her until they were gone. Like everyone in the village and her father. It’s not that she never cared about them while they were there, but it was easy to forget the importance and weight of others once you are used to having them around. It was easy to take it for granted and assume that they will always be there. 

This is why You couldn’t let go of Riko, embracing her as tight as she could. 

On the other hand, the long haired girl remained speechless. She hadn’t expected this kind of reaction from You and everything was still very confusing to her. Nevertheless, she also felt warm inside thanks to You’s affection. It was hard for her to realize this, since she was the kind that would always put herself down, but the fact that she was important to others was slowly hitting her. 

Everyone felt a mix of different emotions, but even in the midst of this reunion, they were all aware that this situation was far from over. 

While Ruby sat on the floor, drawing a star inside a circle with a chalk in her hand, Hanamaru finally asked:

“Were you able to listen to the voice that came from the sky?”

“Yeah.” You gave her a nod. “I couldn’t recognize the voice but a strange energy began to pull us towards it. We were able to avoid being taken because Ruby sealed us down here.”

“We managed to avoid it but…” Ruby didn’t want to finish their sentence. 

Everyone in the room was well aware as of why. You didn’t want to think about it either, but it was easy to tell simply by looking at the group that was reunited here. Not everyone was here. Even if they didn’t know what happened after Seira had attacked them, what the voice from the skies said had given them a good clue. 

Riko stared at everyone as they remained silent and lost in thought. She was still out of the loop about the situation. She was still barely conscious at the time that voice had spoken, so she couldn’t remember what they said in the slightest. Judging by everyone’s expressions, it was one of the worst scenarios possible.

You stood up, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She didn’t even want to think of the possibilities, but running away from them would be worse. After all, the life of people who were precious to her was on the line. They had no choice but to face this situation head on. 

““ _The members of the Liberation and a key for the Aquarium Project._ ”” That is what the voice said.” You clenched her fist as she spoke. “They had to have been talking about Chika and the others, there’s no doubt.”

“Sis…” Ruby whispered under her breath while staring into the ground.

_“What did you say?”_

Someone’s voice alerted them, making them jump to their feet. The person who spoke was Ria. She had woken up not long ago and had remained silent while listening to their conversation. The information they had given her was enough for her to understand what happened, but precisely because she understood, she couldn’t remain silent anymore.

“Hmph! You probably already know who is behind this, don’t you?” Yohane accused her while glaring at her.

“You can’t be serious.” She whispered under her breath, her voice gradually getting louder. “You can’t be serious. This can’t be happening, this can’t be happening, this can’t be happening!!”

Seeing the way she reacted made everyone grow increasingly nervous. She had an expression of terror in her face and her body had started to shake.

“Can you tell us what happened, zura?”

“Calm down.” You approached her, placing her hands on her shoulders. “Please explain to us.”

But even then, she completely ignored their questions. She couldn’t stop herself from panicking until she suddenly went silent, as if a switch had been flipped over. Looking into the ground she muttered with a faint voice.

“It doesn’t matter.” 

“?”

“It’s all over. It’s all over for us and for all of you, it doesn’t matter anymore.”

“It’s not over.” The one who replied was Ruby. “I’m going to find sis and save her no matter what, so it’s not over!!” 

Listening to her words, Ria’s eyes opened wide but she couldn’t bring herself to reply. She simply remained silent while looking down into the ground. She didn’t want to believe the situation they were in was truly happening. After all, she was well aware that the only people who knew about the Aquarium Project were her sister and the members of A-RISE. If A-RISE had found them here, then that means it all had been for nothing and the fact her sister was not back yet was enough to tell her that she had been taken as well. 

“Tokyo.” Ria whispered under her breath. “They were all probably taken there by A-RISE, that is where their headquarters are.”

“Their headquarters are in Tokyo?!” 

Riko could feel a chill run down her body. It had been their objective to go there in the first place but they had never planned to run head on into the members of A-RISE. The simple mention of that name was enough for her to recall terrible memories from their confrontation against Tsubasa. This was a lot to process and it was truly one of the worst situations.

“Then all we have to do is go there and save them, right?” Yohane was trying to look at it in a positive light.

“It’s not so simple, zura.” Hanamaru shook her head. “Getting into Tokyo was already difficult for us even with Mari and Dia around but...”

Ruby remained silent as well. No matter how much she wanted to run and go save her sister, she was well aware of how powerless she was in situations like this. Going to Tokyo was an extremely difficult task were even her sister had failed before. They had finally gotten so close, but now she had learned than that is where incredibly powerful enemies were located. Going there felt truly impossible. 

Above all, a really intense fear had kicked in and shrouded everyone. It was too risky. So… what could they even do? Would they just give up now?

No.

“Then…” You finally spoke. “I’m going. I’m going to Tokyo.”

“I’m going as well.” Riko spoke out her answer. “It’s not like we can just abandon them and that’s where we were going in the first place.”

“F-Fine then!” Yohane laughed. “I’ll accompany you to the depths of hell!”

“Zura…” Hanamaru sighed and smacked her own cheeks. “Fine then, let’s go!”

Ruby’s eyes lit up just by looking at how determined everyone was. Even if they were powerless and hopeless, they were still going to fight and break through the wall before them. At that moment she truly felt like as long as her friends were there, there was nothing she couldn’t do.

“Ruby…Ruby will do her Rubesty as well!!” 

“Wait!” Ria spoke desperately as she glared at Riko. “You can’t go! A-RISE wants to use you to take control of a great power! If the princess goes to Tokyo it’s all over!!”

“I’m still going.” Riko gave her an immediate response. “I’m not going to run away anymore. If it comes down to it, I will fight back until my last breath.”

“You won’t need to do that.” You shook her head and made a salute with her hand. “If that happens I will be there to save you. It’s a captain’s duty to make sure her entire crew makes it back!”

“But-!”

You didn’t let Riko finish her sentence.

“The captain accepts no excuses!! We’ll go full speed ahead and we will all make it back!!”

“…” 

Ria remained silent. She couldn’t understand these people. How could they be so full of themselves? How could they stay positive at a time like this? As soon as they stepped into the city, everything would be over for them. But maybe… just maybe… could they really…? 

Was it okay to give up just like that? If this was the other way around… would her sister have abandoned her?

No, of course she wouldn’t have. So then… then maybe…

“Please.” Ria’s voice was shaking. She slowly raised her head, looking directly at the other girls. “Please help me save my sister!!”

You stopped for a moment to think. This was the enemy they had just fought against, someone that showed no remorse about fighting them full force. It was the person who had caused Riko to almost die. Even if she begged like this, it’s wasn’t so easy to accept.

“Please.” Ria got on her knees, lowering her head down. “I beg you, I need to save my sister.”

“How do we know this isn’t a trap?” Yohane spoke what was inside everyone’s minds at the moment.

“I think we should take her with us.” The one who stated this was Ruby. She had experienced Ria’s violence first hand. She knew how dangerous she was. But even then, listening to her plea, there was something that resounded deep inside Ruby’s heart. She knew it wasn’t easy to just tell this to everyone, but she wanted to do her best to convince them to listen to her. “It may be a trap but… Ruby thinks she might have valuable information as well.”

“Ruby…” Yohane simply stared at the red haired pigtail girl, not knowing what to think. “That may be true but-”

“It’s okay.” Ruby nodded. 

Ria simply remained speechless, staring at Ruby as she approached her. The red pigtail girl untied her hands and held them. Golden light covered the room, and once it dissipated. Her wrist was restrained by a handcuff and the other side was connected to Ruby’s own wrist. 

“Ruby will make sure to keep an eye on her!”

Yohane was ready to present more objections, but Hanamaru stepped forward, shaking her head at Yohane.

“If that’s what Ruby wants, I think it’s okay, zura!”

You and Riko looked at each other and nodded.

“You can come with us.” You spoke to Ria. “But the penalty for treason in my crew is death!”

Listening to You who was always calm and relaxed state out a threat like this was enough to scare everyone in the room. 

Ria simply replied with a nod. She had no objections to present and didn’t object to being restrained and stuck with Ruby either. 

“That being said.” You brought a hand to her chin. “What is our best option to get there?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if A-RISE was waiting for us to go back to the surface.” Riko added. “We are in a situation where it’s really easy for us to be taken away the moment we try to escape from here.”

“I know of a route we can take.” Ria spoke. She felt a lot of pressure by having everyone’s gazes staring at her but she continued speaking. “We aren’t too far from the Odawara Station. It doesn’t run anymore, but it was a station of bullet trains that go towards the Tokyo station.”

“Bullet train?” You tilted her head to the side confused.

“I see.” Riko nodded. “That train can reach extremely fast speeds. It can go as far as 285 kilometers per hour. If we can somehow activate it we can move fast enough while going straight towards our destination.”

“If we use the bullet train we will be in Tokyo in less than 2 hours.” Ria explained.

“Hanamaru.” You spoke at the short girl. “Can you use your magic to heal us?”

“Zura… I already used too much power, I don’t think I can right away.”

As You continued to think about their options, Ruby walked towards the circle she had drawn on the floor with chalk while dragging Ria along with her. Pressing her hand on it, it opened a path on the ground below them while taking the shape of a stairway. 

“Ruby thinks we can use this to travel underground for now.”

“Perfect.” You nodded. “I think it’s best if we change locations for starters.”

Leaving the hotel behind, they carefully walked down the stairs and deeper into the underground. Everything was extremely dark except for the faint light that came out of the lamp which Yohane held in her hands now. The temperature had started to raise a lot as well and it had become a little hard to breathe.

“Okay, here is the plan.” You stated soon after they had descended down the stairs and walked for a bit. “For starters, we rest.” 

She sat down on the floor and closed her eyes.

“Eh?!” Ria finally complained. “We don’t have the time for that!! We have to go and-!!”

“We need to rest first.” You spoke her orders in a serious tone. While it’s true she had never been in a situation like this before, she had already faced smaller dangers while traveling with her father’s crew, so she spoke from experience after remembering things he had done as well. “We are all in bad condition. Even if we hurry and rush there we won’t be able to do anything, let alone fight. First we need to rest.”

“Thank you, zura.” Hanamaru sat on the floor exhausted. Simply going down the stairs had been difficult for her after having used so much magic earlier. 

Ria remained silent and everyone agreed to follow You’s orders. Yohane closed her eyes as she sat down, before she could realize it she had fallen asleep and rested her head on Ria’s shoulders. Ria’s body froze on the spot, but she remained silent even while growing increasingly nervous. 

In the meantime, Ruby handed Hanamaru large bread she had made using her alchemy. 

“I-Isn’t that a lot of food?!” Riko was surprised by the exaggerated size of the bread.

“Maru’s magic usually uses a really high amount of power, so she needs to eat a lot to recover quick!” Ruby explained. 

“That’s right, zura!!” Half of the bread had already disappeared from her hands in an instant. “If I recover my magic then I can heal everyone properly!!”

“Tch.” Ria clicked her tongue.

The purple pigtail girl felt a strange mix of emotions. She was irritated, feeling like there was no way this group could achieve anything, but at the same time, it was the first time she got to sit down with a group like this at all. Everything felt foreign, but above all, she felt a strange kind of relief. Yet, her pride made her grow mad at herself for feeling this relief in the first place. 

“And this is for you, Ria.”

Ruby’s voice dragged her out of thoughts. She felt confused, looking at Ruby holding out bread for her to take. 

“For…me?”

“You must be tired as well… so Ruby thought you might want some, too!”

What was this feeling? How could this girl be so nice to her even after all this? Accepting this kindness was scary… but… it also made her happy in a way. 

“T…Thanks.” She replied, slowly holding the bread with her hand.

They rested for a few hours, and once Hanamaru had recovered enough magic, she had healed everyone’s wounds and completely restored them. 

After that they continued to follow the underground path Ruby was making using her alchemy. They followed it until they had reached their destination: the Odawara Station. In order to reach the area where the bullet trains were they had to follow a stairway up and finally go all the way to the surface. 

The girls couldn’t help but feel nervous, expecting the worse, but once they reached the surface there was no trace of A-RISE or any kind of magic affecting the sky. What received them were the clear afternoon skies and a soft cold breeze. After being underground for so long it felt strange to be back in the surface and it was considerably colder. 

The station was completely silent and all electricity had been shut down. There were no traces of anyone having been to this place for years as everything was full of dust and some spider webs covered some of the signs. Long railways spread across the floor and into the distance.

Standing in those railways, there were three large bullet trains. It was as though they had been abandoned there.

“These use electricity, don’t they?” Riko pondered out loud. “How do we get them to move if this place is shut down?”

“Leave it to Ruby! I can generate it with Alchemy!!” The red pigtail girl nodded. 

She then ran towards the rails, inspecting the trains. Ria had no choice but to follow as she was pulled forcefully by the handcuff. Up till now Ruby had been very careful and gentle as they walked around but this time she looked really excited as she looked around and examined the trains. 

After inspecting them for a bit, she stood in front of the train in the middle.

“Let’s use this one!!”

“Why this one?” 

“R-Ruby knows this is silly but… the name of this train is “Nozomi” so… Ruby thought it would be good luck if we used this…”

“I see…” Ria couldn’t understand why, but listening to that name made her feel something strange deep inside.

Pressing her hand against the train, a burst of golden light surrounded it and the doors opened on their own to let them in.

After entering the train, it was completely empty inside but it was also very clean. Lots of seats spread all across it with enough space for hundreds of people to travel. Everyone sat down close to the seats in the front while You walked into the control room followed by Riko.

Thanks to Ruby’s alchemy, the bullet train was all powered up and ready to move. 

“Can I ask something?” Riko wondered as You sat on the conductor’s seat and stared at everything.

“What is it?”

“Do you… know how to drive this?”

“Nope!”

“Then how-?!”

“I’ll just think of this as a land boat!”

“Land boat?!”

“Let’s go!!” You made a salute. “Full speed ahead, Yousoro!!”

And with that, the train shot forward with an incredible speed. There was no turning back, they were going to go straight into the enemy’s base and save their friends. 

However, without them realizing it, there was someone sleeping at the very back of the train. And as the train started moving, they had woken up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry for the delay with this update! Between homework and class I was running on very little hours of sleep so I wanted to take my time and make sure I would bring you a proper update! 
> 
> Whenever there are going to be delays and such, I usually let you know on my [twitter](https://twitter.com/yukisetsuna) ! Feel free to follow me there and talk to me!
> 
> I also believe it's time again to do my special thanks section. I've been reading everyone's comments every week and I'm really grateful for everyone's support! So here is the honorable mention to everyone who has left comments after the previous one! 
> 
> Special ☆ Thanks to:  
> Aethuran_KR  
> Luna  
> Chiba Yoshi  
> YohaRiko  
> xswordeyesx12  
> a username  
> nana_thyme  
> HakunaMooka  
> yoshizuras 
> 
> I'm really grateful for all of your feedback and seeing you around is always great! 
> 
> I would also like to mention that even if you haven't left any comments but have made it all the way here, I really appreciate you a lot! Just knowing there's people out there reading my work means a lot to me and I'm really glad to have you around!


	31. TOKYO - Part 1

The absolute silence of a desolate land had been broken. Running over the rails and breaking through the wind, the sound of a large bullet train echoed across the landscape as it shot forward at full speed. 

“Yousoro!!” The young captain made a salute as she focused on the road ahead of her.

“I’m still not sure about this!!” Riko complained, fearing for her life as the train started to accelerate. 

“Hm, since we are on land…” You stopped for a moment to think before making a salute again. “Yousoroad!!” 

“That’s what you are worried about?!” 

Even if the plan sounded good on paper, looking at the scenery made Riko very nervous. The trees and the very land looked like a quick blur as they left the landscape behind. The speed that this train reached was unbelievable. It seemed like they were already moving at a ridiculous pace, but it only continued to accelerate more and more. 

 

“Zuraaaa!!” 

Hanamaru looked through the window while sitting on one of the passenger seats at the front. Yohane was sitting next to her, while Ruby and Ria both sat across from them. 

“What? Is this the first time you’ve been on one of these?” Yohane asked in a mocking tone.

“Zura? So Yoshiko has been to these before, I see.”

“O-Of course I have!!” 

“Then you would have known that not sitting next to the window is bad luck!”

“O-Of course I knew that!! I was just trying to use this chance to channel my dark powers and-!”

“And did you know?” Hanamaru interrupted her, moving closer and closer to Yohane while lowering her voice. “The people who don’t sit next to the window get eaten by the spirit of the train.”

“Pigii!!” 

Ruby who was sitting right across from Yohane let out a startled squeal while Ria simply rolled her eyes uninterested.

“T-That’s not fair! I’m getting away from here-!” 

Yohane attempted to stand up and move somewhere else but she came to a sudden stop. What looked like a tiny cloud had fallen into her hands from out of thin air. The four girls couldn’t help but to stare at it, completely confused about where it had come from or what this really was.

“I-It can’t be!!” Yohane raised her voice. “I-Is the spirit of the…train…real…?” Her voice trailed off as she suddenly fell asleep.

“Yoshiko?” Hanamaru tilted her head, shaking the girl by her shoulder.

“Hehehe…” Yohane laughed in her sleep. “You are my little demon now.”

“C-Could it be, zura… the spirit of the train!!”

“Don’t be ridiculous!!” Ria frowned. “There’s no way-!!”

But the purple pigtail girl could not even finish her sentence. A small cloud had fallen on her lap and she fell fast asleep before she could even realize it.

“R…Ruby…what if we are next, zura?!”

“P-Pigyah!!” 

 

While Hanamaru and Ruby screamed startled, there was someone sitting at the very back of the train who none of them had noticed at all. 

To be more accurate, this person was now lying down on one of the seats while hugging a purple pillow with white stripes. It was a tall girl with long and wavy light brown hair. She wore a white tank top with a black ribbon at the front and an unbuttoned pink sweater with long sleeves. 

As Hanamaru and Ruby screamed, You reacted by instinct slightly decelerating the train for just a moment, but that had been enough for the friction to send everyone flying forward, including the girl who had been sleeping.

“Ow…” She whispered with a sleepy voice after falling off her seat and into the floor. “Where am I…?”

The tall girl with wavy hair yawned, her violet eyes started to scan the area and she brought a hand to her chin to think without bothering to get up from the floor just yet.

“Ah… that’s right!” She suddenly sat up wide awake but her energy faded away fast. “The train, it started moving… did I fall asleep again? Falling asleep in car rides is the best, well, this isn’t a car.” 

 

In the meantime, Hanamaru and Ruby had hit their foreheads against Ria and Yohane respectively when the friction sent them flying. There was no way for them to know this happened at the same time the girl who slept in the back woke up, but the cloud in Yohane and Ria’s hands had disappeared and both were wide awake in just an instant.

“…”

The two girls who had been sleeping up till now remained in absolute silence. They simple stared into the distance with their eyes wide open.

“Yoshiko?” Hanamaru waved her hand in front of her face.

“W-W-What was that…?” Yohane asked, her voice was shaking. 

“I… I don’t know… that was...” Surprisingly, Ria’s voice was shaking as well. 

Hanamaru and Ruby looked at each other confused, just what did they see while they were sleeping? 

“What happened?!” Riko yelled as she ran towards the girls, startled by their screams from earlier. 

But something else startled the girls before they could even begin to explain anything. It was a strange buzzing sound. It sounded like really loud wind running at a high speed mixed with the sound a plane would make when flying by close enough. The sound was loud enough to startle all of them but it clearly didn’t come from the train. 

Simply by looking out the window, they couldn’t see anything at all but the sound continued getting louder and moving closer. Wary of anything that could happen; Riko reached for one of the windows, opened it, and slightly stuck her head out to get a good view.

“There you are.” 

A voice spoke. It was the sound of a voice that came from the very skies, the same voice they had heard the moment Chika and the others were taken away. Now that she had a better view, what Riko was able to see was a large cape of darkness that spread across the skies, engulfing everything and running towards them at a fast speed.

Riko didn’t even need to say anything for everyone to understand the situation right away. Hanamaru and Yohane were quick to react, pulling Riko away and shutting the window down.

“Hmph, you need to stay away for now. I’m not about to lose a little demon here.”

“We won’t let them get you, zura.”

Riko clenched her fists, she didn’t like the idea of having to hide and run away, but there really wasn’t much she could do at a time like this. After being forced by Hanamaru and Yohane, Riko sat on the passenger sit. She sat across from Ruby as Hanamaru rushed towards the control room to alert You. Meanwhile, Yohane decided to check the train thoroughly to make sure they would stay safe.

“Damn it.” You frowned. “So they showed up after all.”

“It’s strange zura.” Hanamaru, who now sat on the control room next to You reported as she looked out the window. “It’s like a long range spell that spreads through the sky, it is coming after us, but it can’t instantly reach us.”

In fact, even if the skies had darkened, the only way to see this was by looking out the window and at the area behind the train. From You’s position, she wasn’t able to see anything strange at all. The skies were as clear as ever but the loud sound of Erena’s spell still alerted her of something being wrong. 

“So it can’t take us away as long as it doesn’t reach us.” You tried to think of her options as her eyes were locked on the expanding landscape in front of her. “How fast it the magic spell moving?”

“About as fast as the train, zura!” 

Hearing that made You grow increasingly nervous. As it was, the train was already moving at an insane speed, but for a long range magic spell to be that fast, if they had tried to reach the city any other way they would have been doomed from the start.

“It must have caught up with us when I decelerated then.” You whispered under her breath.

If that was the case then that meant she couldn’t allow for a single mistake like this to happen again. If they were to lose speed again for just a second that would be enough for the spell to catch up and take them away. She had everyone’s lives in her hands.

 

Yohane continued to step forward as she explored the train. It was hard to walk thanks to the speed it had, so she was holding unto the seats in order to keep herself from falling. She looked through all of the empty seats and the more she checked, the more she felt like there wasn’t really anyone else inside. However, she couldn’t shake away what happened earlier either, in the back of her head she felt like there was something hiding. 

The silence of the train mixed with the loud noise of the magic spell following them unsettled Yohane. She had seen firsthand the power of the leader of The Liberation, she had seen the power that both Dia and Chika had, she had seen the endurance and stamina that Kanan had, and yet, they had all been taken away in just an instant. Was there really a way to fight back? 

But as she stepped deeper into the train, she could finally pick up a noise. It was the noise of someone snoring. She had finally made it all the way to the back of the train, but she was starting to become afraid to check. 

The blue bun girl froze on the spot and gulped. Her legs were shaking as she tried to move a step forward, just what was waiting for her there? Gathering all her courage, she rushed towards the place where the noise came from and what waited for her was… a sleeping girl hugging a pillow.

Was this an enemy, or was this someone they could trust? She was sleeping on the floor which only made this even weirder. Yohane couldn’t help but wonder if it was a trap but she was curious so she kneeled down, approaching her carefully.

Her hands slowly moved towards the sleeping girl but Yohane’s movement completely stopped just before her fingers could reach her shoulder. 

Yohane remained frozen solid in shock as a pair of violet eyes stared into her own. Her wrist had been seized by a tight grasp and the girl spoke in a faint tone.

“What are you doing, fallen angel?”

 

Riko stood up in shock the moment Yohane’s screams echoed all the way from the back of the train. 

“Where do you think you are going?” 

Before she could even react, Ria was standing in front of her. 

“You need to stay here and hide, leave this to Ruby!!” 

The red pigtail girl gave Riko a nod. 

Even if they were handcuffed together, the two younger sisters had reacted with perfect synchronization. They gave a step forward, ready to go and face whatever danger it was that Yohane had encountered. 

Riko was frustrated, was hiding like this okay? Was simply standing here and waiting the right thing to do?

Her body had already tensed up a lot just from listening to the sound of the spell that ran across the sky and towards them, had the enemy already infiltrated the train?

But there wasn’t much time to think. Ruby and Ria had barely moved onward a few steps but Riko noticed them abruptly stopping. She was able to tell why they stopped right away. A loud noise echoed inside the train, it was loud enough to drown out the loud noise that was coming from the skies. 

Ruby and Ria both took fighting stances, moving their free hands in front of their bodies so they could defend from any incoming attack. The noise that spread inside the train was unique and not like anything they had heard before. It was like listening to a loud white noise, similar to static, but almost as if it was spreading across space itself. 

Even while being ready to defend themselves, they had no way to anticipate what would happen next. 

Riko couldn’t even comprehend the images appearing before her. 

 

“What happened?!” You yelled at Hanamaru soon after Yohane’s loud scream reached her.

“The spell is still chasing us so nothing has change- wait!!”

“?!”

“I-It’s not there anymore, zura!!”

“What?!” 

You could feel her hands shaking. Even if all she had to do was to follow the path of the rails being the conductor of a train was still difficult. She was only able to do it by sheer instinct thanks to her experience driving machinery. On top of that they were moving at 285 kilometers per hour, the smallest mistake could result in something fatal. 

“I don’t know, zura! The spell is suddenly gone!”

“Wait…is that-” You’s eyes opened wide. In the distance, her eyes could see a very distinct scenery growing closer and closer. “Tokyo?!”

Hanamaru quickly turned around to look at the scene before her. A few kilometers away, the image of tall buildings that spread high into the sky had come into view; however, that is when she saw it as well. 

The spell that had disappeared from the skies had reappeared just above that scenery; it shrouded the entire city and ran towards them head on at full speed. 

“Full speed ahead.” You whispered under her breath. Turning back wasn’t an option. Gritting her teeth, she continued running full force towards their destination. 

The scenery was quickly enveloped by absolute darkness.

 

This is when a strange image spread before Riko. Just what happened? Her thoughts could barely catch up. She knew she had been standing inside the train, but… was this still the train? No, it had to be. She looked to her side and held onto one of the seats. They were still there… but, the windows, the walls, the floor below, it had all disappeared. 

Holding on to the seat was the only thing that reassured and let her know that she was still there, standing, existing. It almost felt like she was standing on top of a strange void. What looked like the stars of a clear night sky spread all around and large pink colored lights decorated the background in a grid-like pattern. 

Looking in front of her, Ruby and Ria were still there. Both stood in shock, startled by the strange environment that had surrounded them. 

There was silence. Absolute silence. They couldn’t listen to the sound of the bullet train anymore, and the sound of the spell that chased them was gone as well. 

Soon, the sound of steps coming forward became louder and louder. 

Riko took a deep breath, she attempted to step forward to move closer to the other girls. As she did, she could feel the solid ground under her feet, it didn’t feel that much different from being inside the train. And soon, the source of the steps came into view. A tall girl with wavy hair walked towards them with a bored expression on her face. She held a purple pillow between her arms, but there was someone else following her. It was Yohane, she looked extremely pale and her legs were trembling. She was slowly walking forward while clinging unto the girl’s arm.

Ruby could feel a strong pull on her arm as Ria stepped forward without hesitation.

“Wait, hold on for a moment.” The tall girl yawned, making the motion to stop with one of her hands. “I’m too tired to fight right now.”

“What is going on…?” Riko spoke her thoughts out loud as she finally approached the other girls. 

Upon seeing Riko, Yohane quickly let go of the girl and ran towards her, clinging unto her arm instead.

“Huh? Oh.” The tall girl with wavy hair sat down. “I could hear something dangerous approaching, it wasn’t letting me sleep properly either, that’s why I did this so I could relax.”

“…” 

Everyone stood in the spot speechless, not knowing how to react towards this girl who looked ready to go back to sleep anytime now. 

In fact, the power she had used didn’t only alter the way the space around them looked like, but it protected them from the spell that was about to engulf them from outside. Just as absolute darkness had covered the sky, ready to take away the train and everyone inside, the train had completely vanished. It was almost as if it had been teleported somewhere else, but there was no way to tell if that had been the case.

Inside the control room, You stared at her own hands speechless. Just, what happened? The seats and the controls of the train were still there, but the machine had completely stopped moving. The scenery of the city before her had completely disappeared and instead she found herself inside a strange space. 

“Did… they get us?” You asked, she felt as though the last string holding her heart together was about to snap apart. 

“This isn’t it, zura.” Hanamaru shook her head. “I don’t know what this is, but it’s not the spell that was coming after us.”

“Wha-?!”

“I’m not even sure this is still magic.”

“It almost feels like… a dream?” You whispered her thoughts out loud.

She stood up, letting go of the controls and slowly left the control room followed by Hanamaru. Even while inside this strange space, the door that led to the exit of the control room was still there. It all felt so bizarre and strange. The young captain couldn’t help but to feel lightheaded. Even if the door opened like normal, everything felt unreal, as if she didn’t exist anymore. 

Once she had reached the room where the other girls were, You rushed towards them but Riko made a signal to her to stay quiet. After approaching them, she was able to see a sleeping girl lying down on one of the seats. 

(“What happened?!”) You whispered, doing her best to keep her voice low.

(“I don’t know!”) Riko was having a hard time remaining calm. (“Apparently this girl did something to keep us safe!”) 

“My demonic senses are telling me not to trust her-!!” Yohane yelled

“Shh!!!” Hanamaru was quickly to react, pulling Yohane away.

(“But where are we now?! What about going to Tokyo?!”) You looked desperate; this was giving her way much more stress than she could handle.

“Eh? Tokyo?” The tall girl spoke after being woken up by Yohane. “Oh. That’s where Haruka is. So this train was going to Tokyo after all, I got lucky!”

“U-Um…” Ruby was hesitant to say anything but still decided to talk to the girl. “If you created this space… can you take us there?”

“Hm?” The strange girl rubbed her eyes and then placed her hands on the spot where the window should have been. As if wiping away the strange space with the sleeve of her sweater, the window became visible, and outside the window they could see what looked like a station. But above all, they could see the tall buildings that rose up into the skies. “We are already there. Tokyo.”

“What?!?!” 

All the girls yelled at the same time and rushed to look outside the window. Without a doubt, they had made it to their destination.

“W-W-What kind of dark being are you?!” Yohane pointed at the girl. “What is this power?! Who are you?!”

“Oh?” The girl tilted her head. Her voice was as devoid of energy as ever but she replied with a smile. “I’m Kanata, Kanata Konoe. Nice to meet you!”

☆

Deep inside the city, another group stood inside a silent and dark room. With their arms behind their backs, they had been restrained with chains and were trapped inside what looked like a cell. However, it wasn’t any regular cell either. A strong current of visible electricity ran across the bars and a strange shadow surrounded the walls. Four girls sat in the middle of the room, with their backs facing each other.

“Huh…?” The eyes of the girl with long black hair slowly opened.

“ _Dia_ you are finally awake!!” Mari spoke with enthusiasm despite the situation.

“Ouch everything hurts… huh… where am I? Why can’t I move?!” Dia sounded irritated as she started to struggle, trying to break her arms free from the restrains.

“Calm down.” Kanan sighed. “These are really sturdy, don’t even bother.”

“Ahhhh, I can’t accept this!!” Chika yelled kicking the air with her legs. “There’s got to be something we can do!!”

“That is right, I cannot accept this either!!” Dia began to struggle again. “How could they catch us so easily?! What are we going to do now?!”

“Hmm…” Mari remained quiet for a moment. “We wait.”

“Huh?! That in unacceptable, Mari, this is not the time for jokes!!”

“ _What?_ I’m not joking! When have my plans failed us?”

Right after asking this question, Mari could clearly listen to the sound of Dia taking a deep breath, so she was quick to interrupt her before it was too late.

“I actually have a plan, DON’T WORRY!!”

“It’s no use.” Seira who had been silent up till now finally spoke. “Don’t pretend like you didn’t hear as well. They are going to use us as bait to lure the princess, and then, they will execute us.”

“What!?” Chika and Dia both yelled at the same time. “As if we would let that happen!!”

“This isn’t as simple as being positive.” Seira sighed. “This is A-RISE we are talking about, it’s all over.”

“Tch.” Dia clicked her tongue. “This is all your fault in the first place!!”

“So?” Kanan decided to question Mari. “Can you elaborate on the plan?”

“Well? I told you before, didn’t I? One of the reasons we were coming to Tokyo.”

“Huh? You did not tell us anything!!” Dia complained.

“ _What?_ That’s strange I’m pretty sure I did!!”

“So, what is it?”

At that moment, Mari remembered the day she had gone shopping in an old city, the same day she had faced a group of pirates. After everything was over, she received an important letter. That letter had been one of her biggest driving forces in coming to Tokyo and bringing everyone here. She ended up taking a longer route than expected and the group had grown much bigger, including even the princess and an old friend. Arriving to the city in this way, and being in this situation, it looked like the worst scenario, but she didn’t see it like that at all. 

After all, Mari Ohara wasn’t the leader of The Liberation for nothing. 

“Let’s just say, we came here to reunite with some good acquaintances of mine.”

☆

Two girls walked across the desolate city as their figure was painted with red by the light of the setting sun.

They were both young and seemed to be on their twenties. They wore capes and what looked like fancy clothes that made them stand out a lot. One of them wore a knight-like white and silver outfit, it was decorated by a black ribbon in the front which matched with the large metallic looking magical-rod in her hand. The other one had a frilly light-blue dress and looked like a princess. The dress was decorated by white ribbons and she had a belt wrapped around her waist which held together the sheath of a sword. 

“Ahhhh, why did that girl have to go and make this so complicated for us?!” The girl dressed like a knight scratched her head, she looked visibly upset. 

“At least it sounds like her, alright.” The other girl smiled sheepishly. 

The breeze of the evening ran by. 

The girl who dressed like a princess looked lost in thought, her long blonde hair swayed from side to side with the wind. She stared at the girl with short, auburn hair and smiled.

“We’ll be fine as long as we are together.”

“Yeah!” The short haired girl cracked her fingers. “It’s been a while so I’m ready to go all out! Are you ready, Alisa?” 

“Let’s go, Yukiho!”

As the two stood before the UTX building – the A-RISE headquarters, Mari Ohara smiled. All the pieces had fallen into place. The stage was Tokyo and as all the actors stepped in, it was time to set her plan in motion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hm, if this was an anime series I'm sure this would be the episode where the opening changes. I'm glad I finally got to introduce some characters to the story I've been looking forward to write for a while now! 
> 
> On that topic, when it comes to the PDP girls they might all do cameos here and there but they won't be as prominent since this is mainly an Aqours story after all, that and I do want to write their own adventure at some point! Now that this chapter is out, I'll be updating the character tags in a few days!


	32. TOKYO - Part 2

A large structure towered above all the buildings that surrounded it. 

Simply standing before it was enough to perceive the imposing pressure that this place radiated. 

Normally it would be impossible to make it this far. Even if one were to carelessly approach this place by accident, it wouldn't be forgiven. 

But that didn't matter to them. 

The two figures that approached the building continued walking forward without a care in the world. 

In fact, they had decided to walk straight towards the front entrance. 

Normally the front doors leading into the UTX building would be locked and would only allow access when presented with a special ID. Security was tight at this location and simply approaching the entrance would have you go against powerful guards. But this wasn't the case this time around. 

There were no guards and no security to stop them. This was because they wouldn’t give them the chance to.

In an instant, the front side of the building was blown apart. Not just the front entrance, but the front side of the entire building itself. A cloud of smoke rose up as about five entire floors had been shattered apart. Broken glass and rubble rained from above and the floors that still remained high above were fast to begin falling down now that there was nothing to support their weight. 

Walking forward from behind the cloud of smoke, a girl with short auburn hair grinned before dashing forward. Her figure moved at an inhuman speed, dodging every single rock and piece of rubble that came her way with perfect accuracy. 

Her companion followed closely, opening their way and moving forward at the same pace. With a loud slashing sound, the falling structure from the remaining floors that started to collapse and came their way was torn apart in half with a clean cut. It had happened so fast that it was impossible to even see her draw her blade, in fact it seemed as if it has never left its sheathe at all. 

 

“W-What is happening?!” 

Dia’s eyes opened wide the moment the entire building started shaking violently after the sound of an impact resounded. They couldn’t see what was going on outside from the dark room where they had been imprisoned but the place continued to shake violently and they had been sent against the floor from the sheer impact.

“They are here.” Mari was unable to hide her grin. 

“Who is coming?” Seira couldn’t help but to question Mari. “Who did you call?!”

Yet, they wouldn’t be allowed to patiently wait to be saved. Before Mari could even offer a proper response, something inside the room had changed. The shadows that were covering the walls started to grow, slowly but surely moving closer and closer to them. 

“This is…” Dia muttered under her breath.

It was difficult to see properly at first, and they had assumed they were there simply to prevent them from using magic, but now that they had grown so much, they were able to tell right away.

“Dark Matter?!” Chika finished her sentence. 

“Dark Matter?” Kanan asked out loud not being able to fully catch up.

“Remember the incidents that happened when in direct contact with Chika’s strange power? It’s the same.”

“ _Wait._ ” Mari remained silent for a few seconds to think. “If that’s the case, can’t Chika just absorb this?”

“That’s not it.” Seira shook her head. “I have no idea what this Dark Matter you are talking about is, but, the members of A-RISE aren’t so naive. If this is truly dangerous, then having Chika here could only make it worse.”

Mari clicked her tongue, the Dark Matter spreading inside the room was going to reach them in a matter of seconds, if that were to come in contact with Chika then it would be too late before anyone could even come to save them. 

Chika frowned and clenched her fists. What could she even do at a time like this? No matter how much she tried she was still unable to understand the way her power worked at all, much less to be able to control it properly. At this rate it could be the end for everyone simply because she was here. 

“Hold on.” Kanan barely managed to stand up while struggling. “If whatever this is isn’t here to seal our magic then maybe I can create an opening and-”

“Don’t do it!” 

Dia was quick to tackle Kanan into the ground as water magic started swirling around her legs.

“Dia!! What are you-?!”

“Dark Matter generally devours magic. One thing is when it is limited to Chika’s hands but like this, it is only going to go for you before you can use it!!”

“Then what are we supposed to do?! We can’t just stay here and wait anymore!!”

“I know that already!!” 

As Dia and Kanan argued, everyone startled to struggle, trying to break free and take action before it was too late, but with their limbs tied by chains and the ground below constantly shaking, moving at all had become an impossible task.

Seira then stopped moving, she had begun to desperately try and think of a plan. Whether it was because seeing this people struggling had lit up a small flame inside her, or because she didn’t want to abandon her sister like this, before she could realize it, she was already thinking of trying to find a way out. That alone meant she had given a small step forward. 

There was no time to think or to wait. She knew that if she used magic then the Dark Matter would try to devour her, but she was willing to take the risk. Taking a deep breath, Seira released a massive blast of electricity so that it would engulf her own body. She took in the full force of her own magic and used it to weaken the chain and break it apart. As expected, the dark energy surrounding her shot forward at her at full speed. She only had a second to act, and she would make it count. 

Yet, not everyone else in the room trusted her actions. As she argued with Dia, Kanan suddenly went silent and stared at Seira. She couldn’t tell what intentions she had at all, but it was clear that she was about to jump into Chika’s direction. And after all, Seira had been a strong opponent that had greatly injured them, there was no way she could trust her.

“Kanan!!” Dia yelled. “What are you-?!”

But Kanan couldn’t even bother to respond. Releasing a massive burst of water magic, she broke free from the chains and jumped towards Seira’s direction. The purple haired girl didn’t have the leisure to worry about Kanan’s attack, she simply reached out for Chika and as they made contact, all three disappeared in an instant, leaving only Mari and Dia inside the room.

“Mari!” 

Dia yelled not knowing what to do, she tried to crawl away from the spot where she was before Dark Matter would make contact with her body but then she realized she had been free from the chains as well. She wasn’t able to tell at the moment but Kanan’s blast had been powerful enough to free both her and Mari.

“I’m on it!!” 

Mari stood up, grabbed her gun and blasted a hole apart in the floor below them. It was their only escape while surrounded by Dark Matter. The two descended into the floor below, and as if attracted by their magic, the dark energy began chasing them down at full speed. 

“What do we do now?! Kanan and Chika are-!”

“I know!” Mari frowned. This was a turn of events she hadn’t accounted for at all. “But first we need to make it out of here!”

The two took the full force of the impact as they crashed into the floor below. Dia could feel her legs shaking and pain spreading into her body but she couldn’t rest at all. As soon as they landed into a large and empty room, they started dashing at full speed in order to try and escape the Dark Matter which continued to chase them relentlessly.

 

Just as this took place, Yukiho and Alisa stepped into the UTX building. The front side of the structure had been completely blown apart. The room where they had stepped into looked like the lobby of a hotel, there was a reception at the front along with some wide screens and sofas spread across the place. Yet, this location was now full of dust and rubble. The remains of the destruction they had caused was very evident.

“I know I said to go all out, but don’t you think this was a little too much?”

The girl with short auburn hair yawned and cleaned some dust off her clothes.

“Hm? Isn’t a flashy entrance like this just perfect? Like a declaration of war!!” 

On the other hand, despite her calm and gentle tone, the girl with long blonde hair seemed to be oddly enthusiastic about this. 

Even if they had managed to get past the main entrance, they were well aware this wasn’t a place where they could step in so easily. It didn’t take long before they had to face danger directly. 

After giving a few steps into the main room, the place had completely changed. 

Defying the very laws of space, they were standing now in what looked like an ever-extending hall. The environment around them didn’t look destroyed anymore. In fact, it was as if they were somewhere else entirely. The silver floor and walls reflected a bright light that sat on top of the room, as if it were an artificial sun. Yet, there was only darkness at the very end of the hall.

The enemy was fast to continue their attack, and from within the darkness, a barrage of fireballs started shooting out in their direction, leaving them no space to dodge. 

The two stared at the incoming attack, they knew they couldn’t dodge it and weren’t planning to. With the sound of a blade dancing across the air, the fireballs were all sliced apart in an instant.

“Now then, is this an illusion? Or are these magic users altering space?” 

Yukiho moved her hand forward and a ball of blazing fire appeared on top of her palm. It looked just like the fireball attack they had received but it continued to grow in size and then shrink as magic condensed itself inside the ball. 

“Oh well, I guess it doesn’t matter.”

Having said this, she hurled the ball forward with great force. The ball of blazing fire tore through the air and exploded as it flew deep into the end of the dark hall. Right at the moment of impact, space itself broke apart and the background around them fell like shards of glass. With this, they were standing inside the broken building once again.

“I’ve been thinking about this for some time now.” Alisa brought a hand to her chin. “Isn’t there something off?”

“Yeah.” Yukiho crossed her arms. “There’s no way A-RISE would stay quiet after receiving damage on this scale and that attack was too weak to be one of Erena’s mental attacks.”

As they spoke, a large group of people started walking out; some coming from the upper floors while some others were crawling out from under the rubble. They had black and silver military-like uniforms, it looked like it was the norm for the troops that were to protect this place, and most of them were armed with swords, guns and different kinds of weapons. 

Seeing the two intruders, they charged at them without hesitation, letting out all their firepower and magic against them. 

Yukiho and Alisa however, continued their conversation as they moved deeper into the building, completely ignoring their presence. 

“There’s also what we saw in the sky earlier.” Alisa stopped a soldier who charged at her with a knife using only her hand, she twisted their arm, making them scream in pain and then snapped her fingers, sending out a wave of water that froze in an insant, trapping a handful of soldiers inside the ice. “The one who spoke was Erena but that spell was clearly the kind of magic Tsubasa can use.”

“Then that simplifies things.” Yukiho shrugged. Magic flew at her from all directions. Fireballs, blasts of wind and beams surrounded her, but they were all stopped in midair. As if the very essence of that magic had been replicated and grown in power, it was all countered, knocking out the soldiers with their own attacks. “Erena is good at mental magic. If Tsubasa is in a position where she can’t act, Erena must be using her mental magic to borrow Tsubasa’s power somehow. I imagine that must be draining even for her, so she ended up in a position where she can’t retaliate right away.”

“Aw, and here I was hoping to finally get to experience what her illusion magic was like.”

“That… doesn’t sound too pleasant.”

Yukiho scratched her cheek, sometimes it was really hard to understand what went through Alisa’s mind.

It didn’t matter how many people came charging at them. The two continued moving across the collapsing building at a fast and steady speed. Like this, after moving further into the highest floors, they had managed to reach the room where Mari and the others had been held captive. With a slashing sound, the metal bars that covered the entrance to the room were broken apart in pieces. 

But as the two stepped inside, the room was empty and there was a large hole in the floor. Unlike the damage the building had taken from their attacks, this hole looked like a perfect clean cut, just looking at this was enough to let them know the cause. 

“I’m guessing she wasn’t able to stay here and wait.” Yukiho stopped for a moment to think. “I don’t think they’d let the leader of The Liberation escape so easily, is A-RISE’s rhythm off because Tsubasa can’t command them right now?”

She was trying to explore all the possible scenarios and determine what her next course of action from here on should be, but the silence was abruptly broken by a loud, distorted scream coming from high above. The voice sounded filled with static and it was a voice they couldn’t recognize at all. 

The two looked at each other and nodded before acting immediately. 

Yukiho’s magic rod started floating in midair and wings of light appeared as its sides, letting out fragments of light as they flapped across the air. Yukiho sat on top of the rod which had no problem withstanding her weight and Alisa sat next to her with her legs to the side. The moment Yukiho placed her hands on her weapon, grasping the rod tightly; it shot upwards at full speed like a rocket. 

Leaving fragments of light behind, the rod flew at full speed towards the source of the strange scream. Its force was so great it broke apart the roof and any obstacles in their way without losing speed at all.

 

After using her void magic to teleport, Seira crashed against the floor. Pain spread throughout her body after taking on the full force of her magic and two more girls landed next to her.

Chika felt dizzy, she had crashed against the floor somewhere else before she could even realize it. Even though she knew she was standing on top of solid ground, the earth below her continued to rumble. It almost felt like standing on top of ramp that would lose its balance at any moment. 

Looking at the place around her, it wasn’t a dark room anymore. Instead she was inside a wide room with metallic-looking walls. She had no way to tell but they were still inside the UTX building. 

“Chika!” Kanan was fast to come to her senses and quickly approached her, freeing her from the chains restraining her. “Are you okay?”

But Chika didn’t respond, her attention was entirely directed somewhere else. Confused, Kanan turned around to look in the direction where the orange haired girl continued to stare.

Even if they were still inside the building, the wall behind them had been entirely destroyed. The red light from the setting sun covered them as the sun itself hid behind a sea of tall buildings. As the dark cape of the night surrounded the city, they could see a beautiful scenery as the buildings in the city were all brightly illuminated in an instant, becoming a sea of light.

Chika couldn’t help but to remain speechless as the scene before her reflected on her bright pink eyes. After living and growing up inside a small town, this was beyond anything she could have ever imagined. The other cities they had visited on their way couldn’t even compare to the majestic scenery before her.

“We… made it…?” She finally spoke. “We are really here? We made it to Tokyo!!”

Listening to Chika being so enthusiastic at a time like this made Kanan feel relief. Chika may not have realized it but this bright attitude of hers had always been there for Kanan. It had slowly saved her and helped her keep it together. 

The blue ponytail girl took a deep breath and sat on the floor, letting her body relax if just for an instant. 

“We are here, Chika. We made it!”

Instead of looking at the scenery before her, Seira stared at the two girls while lost in thought. She knew they were well aware of all the danger that was waiting for them if they came here. Having faced them directly in combat, she knew how powerful their resolve was, and yet, she still couldn’t understand. How were they able to be so positive even at a time like this? What was this warm and bright aura that came from them? It was comforting but at the same time it was extremely scary to her. 

“We need to hurry.” Seira finally stood up. Her body was still in pain but there was no time to lose. “We need to get out of here while we still can. Please follow me and-”

“Wait a moment.” Kanan glared at her. “There is no reason for us to trust you.” 

“I understand your reasoning but I need you to listen to me, if we stay here for much longer… then… A-RISE will-!”

“Let’s listen to her.” Chika cut in before Kanan could refute. “She already used her Love Gem, and she doesn’t seem to be in any state to fight. Besides, I don’t think we can get out so easily.”

Part of the floor by the edge of the room was slowly collapsing, falling all the way down, and simply by looking at the scenery it was easy to tell they were way too high up to make it unscathed like this if they were to jump off. 

“Fine then.” Kanan crossed her arms. “If she tries something funny I will take care of her myself.”

Seira didn’t have any words to respond with and simply bowed down to them before scanning the room. With the floor being this unstable they had to be very careful about where they would step. After figuring out an escape route, she was fast to lead them into one of the doors just behind them. 

After crossing the door they stepped into a narrow corridor and it seemed like the damage had spread all the way here as well. There were large cracks running across the walls and pieces were missing from the floor. Seira moved forward with swift movements and the other two followed right behind her back. 

She hadn’t given it too much thought at first, but seeing Chika being able to follow her so easily gave her a bad feeling. Remembering the image of the tattered girl at the end of their combat; she looked like she had taken really heavy damage. Normally, someone wouldn’t have been able to recover so easily. She shouldn’t have been able to stand or even run like that at all, was this thanks to her powers as well? Was it because of the Dark Matter that had tried to go after them? But how did A-RISE get their hands on something like that in the first place?

Seira’s head was full of questions as she continued to guide them across the building. 

It may have been because she was distracted or because it was hard to tell with the place being so destroyed, but the room they next walked into was a very important place to her, one she could recognize right away, it was Tsubasa’s room.

Simply standing here was enough for Seira to feel like something was pulling at her heartstrings, but contrary to everyone’s expectations, there was someone lying down on top of a single bed in the middle of the room. It was Tsubasa. 

Chika and Kanan both froze on the spot the moment their eyes met with the girl. She was lying down on top of the bed just a few meters away. Taking a better look at her, it looked like she was unconscious. Was she even breathing? Was she… alive?

Before her mind could catch up, Seira was already walking forward towards Tsubasa. Kanan and Chika both followed with a very slow pace, making sure to keep their distance as much as they could. 

And then, Tsubasa’s eyes opened. In the blink of an eye, the leader of A-RISE was sitting and staring directly into their eyes. But that stare didn’t feel human, it felt like a blank, emotionless stare.

The three girls rapidly stepped back, but just as they did, a dark shadow loomed over Tsubasa’s body. It looked just like the strange humanoid-looking shadow that had taken her over after their confrontation at Uchiura. 

A disturbing feeling followed by incredible pressure surrounded the girls and then, the very shadow behind her let out a loud and distorted scream. 

 

Moving a few floors down below, Dia and Mari continued to run at full speed as a concentrated mass of Dark Matter gave chase to them. 

As they escaped, Dia ran her fingers on the walls, using her alchemy to make their mass expand and create a solid barrier, but that wasn’t enough to stop the power of Dark Matter. It ran right across the barriers and only gained speed after absorbing some of the power of alchemy that remained on those barriers.

“This thing is so STUBBORN!!” Mari complained, pulling out one of her guns. “Maybe it will go away if it receives enough powe-!”

“Bzzzt, that’s wrong!!”

Before Mari could shoot, Dia forcefully took her gun. 

“Dia?!”

“Your guns are made from mythril, aren’t they?!” The black haired girl stopped running and turned around. “Then this might work!!”

Without hesitation she hurled Mari’s weapon as the mass of energy rushed towards them at full speed. Like a sponge absorbing water, Dark Matter was rapidly contained inside the gun. The color of the weapon darkened and then fell to the floor.

Finally being able to take a break from running all around the place, Dia and Mari let out a sigh of relief.

“What was that…?” Mari approached her gun and carefully picked it up.

“It’s Dark Matter. It can devour any kind of Legendary Power. Didn’t I tell you? It’s the same power that Chika has.” 

“Chika, huh?”

Mari was lost in thought. The concept of Dark Matter itself seemed like something frightening and something she hadn’t accounted for. But above all… how did A-RISE have access to this power?

As the two continued to walk across the empty halls, they had no way to know they were walking towards another figure that walked from the opposite direction.

Erena had a hard time being able to walk and she leaned against the walls to keep her balance. She was breathing heavily and seemed to have taken heavy damage. 

But despite that, she smiled to herself.

“Tsubasa, your power is truly magnificent after all.”

And then, as the sound of footsteps became louder and louder, a grin spread across Erena’s face.

Standing on the opposite end of the destroyed hall, Dia Kurosawa and Mari Ohara had appeared before her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I'm a day late again, but here it is! 
> 
> Writing Yukiho and Alisa can be really amusing, personally I wish we could see more from them on regular Love Live! canon.


	33. TOKYO - Part 3

Dia and Mari continued to walk across the long hall inside the collapsing building. Both were trying to recover their energy after running away from Dark Matter. Being separated from the others like this made it hard to judge the situation, not only was the building barely standing as it was but they had to make sure everyone else would make it out safely. For now, their only option was to continue moving onward but both came to a sudden stop. 

A dangerous presence stood before them. It was Erena, one of the members of A-RISE. Her clothes were tattered and her body was full of bruises, whatever had managed to make this much damage to her wasn’t something to be underestimated. 

Their eyes met with hers, their gazes continued to be locked within absolute silence. Both members of The Liberation slowly stepped back. Dia’s hand was already reaching for the hilt of her sword while Mari’s hands were in position to reach for her guns. 

Dia could feel her breath coming to a stop. Despite being ready for a serious confrontation, the enemy standing before her wasn’t someone they could take lightly. She could feel her hands growing cold but even within that feeling of fear, anticipation rushed through her body. 

As her fingers wrapped around the hilt of her blade, a great rush of adrenaline clouded Dia’s mind. At the time, she couldn’t understand why. If anything, the most logical conclusion she could come to was that this was her chance. Her enemy was clearly hurt and in no state to fight, this was a perfect scenario, this was her chance to finish her off. But… why was her body reacting like this? It was as if all of her senses were anticipating this to a point she couldn’t comprehend. 

There were no words needed. 

The black haired girl gave a step and then her body shot forward at an incredible speed. Golden light burst from within her feet and sparkled from her blade as it danced across the air. She moved with no hesitation, going all out from the get go, ready to end her enemy in one hit. 

And yet…

“ _What?_ ”

The blonde leader opened her eyes in shock. Even if she was also standing there, even if she was witnessing the scene before her, she couldn’t understand what just happened. The next thing she knew Dia’s body was flying across the air, the light of her alchemy had completely vanished and she was sent crashing against the floor. Forget about her attack missing, she wasn’t given a single opportunity to launch her assault in the first place. 

Mari was well aware Dia was no pushover; deep inside she didn’t feel confident about being able to win against her if they were to fight at full force, so seeing her getting pushed back like this was something she never expected. But that wasn’t what scared her the most. 

The most frightening thing was that she was not even able to see what had taken Dia out so easily. 

The blonde girl gave a step back ever so slowly, she wanted to check on Dia right away and confirm that she was okay but she wasn’t in a situation where she could do it so carelessly. Her eyes were intently locked on the woman with long violet hair. 

From the moment she come into their sight, Erena hadn’t moved from the spot where she stood. She had continued to lean against the wall to support her body and her face was looking down to the floor. It was almost like she hadn’t acknowledged their existence at all. 

At that moment Mari had no way to tell, but Erena was smiling. A grin had spread across her face as she stared down at the trembling floor. 

The blonde haired girl clenched her fists. She held one of her guns inside her pocket without pulling it out. She knew she had to act, and she had to act fast. Whatever it was that had affected Dia had managed to hurt her without even letting her get close enough, at this rate even without moving, Mari might be inside the range of Erena’s attack. Erena’s attack… but just… what was her attack? 

Fighting here was a bad idea. That’s the conclusion she was able to reach in an instant, no matter how bad Erena’s condition looked like, even like this, their chance to win was an absolute zero.

The blonde girl jumped back, pulling out her gun with one hand and taking hold of Dia’s body, throwing her weight over her shoulders all at once. If she couldn’t fight back there was only one thing she could do: run for it. But even this strategy had failed from the start. 

The instant Mari moved a step forward to run; her body was completely frozen on the spot. 

“You are scared, aren’t you?” A gentle voice whispered at her.

No, it was beyond just a whisper. It was a voice that spoke directly inside her head. The disturbing sensation of her very mind being infiltrated like this is what had caused her body to freeze up in fear. And of course, the voice who spoke to her was that of Erena. 

Mari could feel her air rapidly leaving her body, it felt as though she was rapidly drowning but no matter how much she resisted she couldn’t even gasp for air. No matter how much she yelled inside her head, her body wouldn’t respond. It was taking all of her effort to barely get a single fingertip to move, and as she struggled the voice inside her head continued to speak. 

“You are a smart girl so of course you understand, don’t you? This is your limit. There is nothing you can do.”

The sound of steps then resounded across the empty hall. They were steps that continued moving closer and closer. Soon, Erena was standing right in front of her. One of her hands was caressing Mari’s cheek while her lips moved closer to her ear. This time, she whispered without trying to speak into her mind.

“So how about it? I am willing to forgive you. Come with us, you won’t have to worry about anything anymore if you do.”

☆

Dia’s consciousness returned to her. Her sight felt blurry and her body was enveloped in a strange sensation as though she was floating.

Where was she right now? 

It was hard to see the stars thanks to all the lights from the tall buildings that surrounded her but it was definitely night time. 

Buildings…? Tokyo? So she was in Tokyo. 

“Huh?” Dia spoke in a low voice. “What was I…?”

Her memory felt incredibly fragmented. She couldn’t remember what she was doing just now at all. No matter how hard she tried to recall, everything was empty. Simply standing in the middle of an empty street in this sea of buildings was already disorientating enough. It was easy for her to tell she was in Tokyo but, where in Tokyo was this? 

And more importantly, where did everyone else go?

Everyone else?

Who is everyone else?

Did she come here with someone else?

…

That’s right! At that moment, a really clear and vivid thought entered her mind. 

“Where is… mother?”

Still feeling lost, the black haired girl started walking across the empty streets of Tokyo. Despite this being such a large city with lots of people living in it, everything had gone completely silent. At the moment, she had no idea of where was she even going, but she felt as though something deep inside was guiding her. 

As she moved forward, she stopped for a moment to stare at her reflection on one of the glass displays just outside one of the buildings.

“Huh…?”

The image that looked at her from the other side of the reflection was that of a little girl. Looking at this image… something felt off. But what was it? She could tell that the person reflected on that glass was herself. Of course it was herself? Who else would it be? But then… what was this feeling? It was as though a heavy weight had fallen on her chest. Looking at herself, she couldn’t help but feel a really heavy pressure enveloping her heart. 

She continued staring at her own reflection for a few seconds. It was in her nature to try and understand these kind of things. She didn’t like to leave feelings lingering in the air, but no matter how much she tried to analyze it she couldn’t reach an answer. But that was okay. At times like this, whenever she couldn’t find an answer, there was someone that always had the right answer. 

“I need to find mother.”

After all, there was no question that her Mother couldn’t answer. But she had no idea where to start searching. She couldn’t help but wonder why she separated from her in the first place. She had no recollection of ever wandering across the streets of this great city on her own before. Being here alone gave her a bad feeling. But above all, she couldn’t shake the idea that she was in this situation for a reason. 

She couldn’t shake the idea that there was something she had to do. But, what was it…?

Was there really something she had to do? If so, if she really forgot, that was terrible. Growing up in the Kurosawa family she was taught from a young age that nothing but absolute perfection was acceptable. Anything else would bring a disgrace to the name of the Kurosawa family, and now that the family had shrunk in numbers, she had an even bigger duty of protecting their image. That’s why she knew forgetting something important was unforgivable. 

“What… did I forget?”

Dia’s face became pale. The idea that she had forgotten something important started to echo endlessly inside her mind. Just what is it? Just what was she forgetting? How could she forget something so important? Why… did she forget?

As if answering her prayers, a loud sound broke the silence of the night. It was the sound of glass breaking nearby. 

She couldn’t understand why, but her body was running towards the source of that noise. Something deep inside her told her that the answer would be there. Something deep inside her told her to hurry. Hurry, hurry, hurry, there is no time left. She had to make it in time; she had to make it in time no matter what. 

Dia ran with all her might. Unknowingly, she ran towards the scene that would shatter her already broken heart. 

“Ruby?!”

The little girl with long black hair let out a yell once her eyes met with the image of her younger sister. A little Ruby was passed out on the ground while surrounded with shards of glass that spread all across the street. 

“Ruby?! Ruby!!!!” 

Dia yelled, holding her in her hands. Seeing her in this state was already worrying enough, but there was something she was able to notice only after picking her up. Ruby’s body was covered with blood. She couldn’t understand what happened but there was a big wound in Ruby’s back and blood continued to flow out from her nonstop. 

The elder sister took a deep breath, trying to hold back her tears. This was no time to cry. She had to do something; she had to act right now. But what could she do? What was she supposed to do in this situation? 

“Dia!” A voice called out to her. “Run!! Take Ruby and get away from here!!”

It was the voice of her mother. 

The black haired girl rapidly turned around to look at the building where all the shattered glass came from. It was hard to see as all lights had left the building but she could make out the silhouette of her mother standing inside the first floor of the destroyed location. 

A tall woman with elegant black hair stared at her, begging her to run away. But Dia couldn’t even let her voice out. Lightning up the night, Dia was able to see a being of darkness surrounded by many lights. 

She was able to see a figure standing just in front of her mother, a figure with horns decorating their head and wings spreading behind their back. 

It was a demon, a force far more powerful than anything she had seen before. 

The image of her mother charging at the demonic creature reflected on her eyes before her sight was blinded by a wheel of spinning lights of different colors.

And then…

☆

“I refuse!!”

A familiar voice, the voice of Mari Ohara reached Dia. Her consciousness felt extremely blurry once more but she was snapped awake in an instant by what happened next. 

Even though Mari’s body had completely frozen over, the shining leader was ready to struggle to her last breath. Using all of her will power she had managed to get a single fingertip to respond, and a single fingertip was all she needed. After all, she was all holding an incredibly powerful weapon in her hand. 

Mari was rapidly able to regain control of her body as a massive blast of plasma shot from her gun, enveloping everything before her along with Erena. Of course, she knew defeating her enemy wouldn’t be so easy, but her plan wasn’t to defeat her. It was to escape. 

Dia was quickly snapped awake. Her body was being held on top of Mari’s shoulders and one of Mari’s arms was tightly wrapped around her waist. The moment Mari’s blast was released the two of them were sent flying upwards thanks to the power of her attack. 

“Mari, what are you-?!” Dia screamed unsure of how to react.

“ _Dia!!_ Watch my back, okay?”

Having said this, Mari continued to pull on the trigger of her weapon repeatedly. Great blasts of concentrated plasma shot one after another, wrecking apart everything before her and letting them fly higher and higher above. She had to get away from there as fast as possible and the state the building was in was to her advantage. 

With the front of side of the building gone, Mari was able to fly outside the building and high into the sky.  
Their bodies flew up high beyond the very height of the building at a great speed. 

Releasing so much continuous power however, was causing a big strain on her weapon. Even with a powerful material such as mythril, her weapon soon broke into pieces. 

Mari then reached for her second gun to continue using her power but a disturbing feeling resonated in her body before she could even attempt to do so. As it was the gun felt much heavier than her usual weapon. That’s when it hit her than that had been the gun she used in order to seal the power of Dark Matter. It may have been her intuition or the power inside the weapon but all her senses screamed at her not to use it. 

But this wasn’t a situation where even the slightest bit of hesitation was allowed. Mari forced herself to pull of the trigger, but nothing happened. As if the weapon itself had rejected her, she could feel a stinging pain in her hand. It was strong enough to force her to hurl the gun away by instinct, leaving her with no options left. 

Without being able to continue using the propulsion of her power to fly, Dia and Mari screamed as they started falling down into the ground at full speed.

☆

An eerie shadow loomed over the body of the woman who slept in the center of the room. Her body had moved with a slow and strange motion than none of them could have predicted. And even though she was staring directly at them, her eyes looked emotionless and completely devoid of any life.

Chika, Seira and Kanan couldn’t do anything but to stare at the figure before them. 

The scene before them was something that had awakened many images deep inside their memories. They were standing before the person who had turned their village into a sea of fire. The image of that serene everyday scenery burning down was something Chika and Kanan could never forget. The images of everyone in the village coming together to try and stop her, the voices of the villages yelling at them, cheering for them, how could they ever forget that? 

But then… what happened? They had seen it with their very eyes on that day. Tsubasa had become enveloped by a strange dark energy. Dark Matter, an energy Chika was very familiar with by now, that had taken over Tsubasa’s body. But… was that all there was to it? 

And above all, why was she here? If everyone in the village had done the ultimate sacrifice to try and stop her… was that for nothing? No. No matter how ridiculous it was, Chika wanted to think of a way to turn this around. In other words, if Tsubasa was still here, then maybe, just maybe everyone else still was…

On the other hand the scene before her affected Seira for different reasons. Up till now she had experienced Tsubasa’s malice first hand. It had been no secret or surprise that something had changed, if anything all this time it felt like the person she used to know as Tsubasa had quickly ceased to exist. It was almost as if she had been replaced by someone else. But even then, this time it went beyond that. 

This time the malicious, dark essence that had taken over Tsubasa was right before her eyes. 

As if the very air had become heavier, simply looking at the dark shadow enveloping Tsubasa and the roaring distorted screams that came out of it was enough to envelop her own body with the pure, unfiltered sensation of Tsubasa’s malice. This was beyond anything she could have ever anticipated, it went beyond her own imagination. 

Was this what had taken over Tsubasa? Or… was this what Tsubasa herself had become? 

No. There was something even more terrifying to all this, after all, Seira knew very well that Tsubasa wasn’t the only one who had displayed this kind of malice. She was well aware about how more than once she had displayed this kind of malice herself. At the time, it was something she couldn’t stop no matter how hard she tried. It almost felt like she was drowning inside all her negative feelings. But now… this… did this mean this was also inside her? Did this mean she was also turning into this?

No one could bring themselves to say anything. No one could bring themselves to do anything. Despite the disturbing scene before them, their own motives and memories were keeping them from running away, but at the same time, they were too scared to even try doing anything. 

And then… something finally changed. 

Tsubasa stood up. 

And at the same time, two figures flew across the skies in the scenery beyond the broken walls of the building. Simply hearing the screaming voices and the massive blast of plasma that illuminated the skies was enough for them recognize who it was. 

At that moment, Kanan let out a gasp. She was clearly able to see the moment Mari’s weapon broke into her hands, and then, one of her guns was sent flying across the air, landing just meters behind Tsubasa. 

This was one of the worst possible situations for Kanan. Chika was one of the most precious people in her life, she couldn’t just abandon her in this kind of situation but she couldn’t just stand there and let her other friends fall to their deaths. After all, Dia and Mari were one of the most precious people in her life as well.

“Chika.” She gave a step forward. “Get away from here!!”

Letting out a scream, Kanan dashed at full force and full speed. She ran past Tsubasa without any kind of fear and jumped off the edge of the broken building without hesitation. 

As she fell across the skies, she opened her arms, holding both Dia and Mari tightly. It was hard to stop the impact from that distance, the ground continued to move closer and closer to them but she was going to save them no matter what.

“Kanan!!” Chika yelled. 

But as if reacting to Chika’s voice, Tsubasa gave a step forward. 

“What do we do?” 

Seira blurted out as she clenched her fist. She couldn’t find the logic to it, but especially because this was something so heavy to her, she felt like she could trust Chika’s judgment. 

“Isn’t it obvious?” Chika took a deep breath and stepped forward. “We are going to save her.”

Seira was at a loss for words. Save her? From all of the possible answers, this was the last one she could have ever expected to hear. Someone other than her was willing to stand up and try to save Tsubasa, even after everything that happened, after everything that she had put them through.

“…Why…?”

There was still a vivid image that lingered in Chika’s mind. Something that had been constantly bothering her and she couldn’t understand at all. The day they had been confronted by Tsubasa, after breaking through her attack, it felt like a completely different person was there.

_“Everyone… listen to me. You have to get out of here.” The tone of her voice had changed and the overall aura that she gave out was completely different. “Hurry… I don’t… have enough time. Hurry and… go before it takes over again… Hurry and find them. You have to find….”_

Even now, Chika couldn’t fully understand what she was trying to say. Even now, she was still angry about what happened. Seeing her own village destroyed and losing her family wasn’t something she could forgive so easily. But even then, despite all of that, she couldn’t forget what she saw that day and she couldn’t just ignore it. After all, at that moment, deep inside, she wanted to help the person before her. 

This is why, no matter how you saw it, to Chika, this was the obvious answer: to save her.

“I don’t know what happened, I don’t even know if there’s anything we can do, but I can’t leave her alone.”

Seira couldn’t understand the logic behind Chika’s answer, but the look in her eyes was more than enough for her to recognize how serious Chika was about this. If she was truly willing to save Tsubasa, then this may be the chance that she was waiting for. 

Seira gave a step forward, standing right beside the orange haired girl. 

“Then, let’s do it.”

Chika smiled at her, giving her a nod and both began running towards Tsubasa at the same time.

But perhaps, thinking that it would be as easy as saving her had been too naïve. Perhaps, thinking the world would be this forgiving was too naïve. 

In a heartbeat, energy exploded from within Tsubasa’s body, rising up a massive wave of a strange dark energy. It was an energy that radiated with malice and killing intent. 

Even so, Chika and Seira both continued moving onward, they couldn’t turn back now. But…

Before they could make contact, the ground below them started to tremble violently. With a loud noise, two figures arrived inside the room while flying on top of a large magical rod. 

Chika and Seira could feel her bodies being pushed backwards before they could even realize it. 

As a girl with long blonde hair stepped forward a wall of solid ice rose up from the ground, becoming a shield to stop Tsubasa’s account. And yet, that shield was shattered to pieces in an instant as the blast of dark energy continued its trajectory. 

Even with Chika’s power to devour magic, if they had come in contact with an attack of this scale it would have been all over. 

“Alisa!” Yukiho yelled, calling out at the girl that rushed back into her direction. 

Before they were given a chance to react, Chika and Seira were pulled by their wrists and restrained by Yukiho. 

“Sorry but I will borrow your power for a bit.” 

Seira was barely able to hear the girl with short Auburn hair say this before she was enveloped by the falling sensation of void magic. 

They quickly teleported to the exit of the building only for an instant to pick up the girls that were lying down on the floor outside, and then the sensation of void magic took over her senses once more. 

 

They had barely managed to escape with their lives after coming face to face with the members of A-RISE, however, there had been someone missing.

Humming a song to herself, Anju, the third member of A-RISE walked towards the Tokyo Station where a bullet train had suddenly stopped. A massive army of members of UTX followed her, all armed with different weapons. 

Not knowing about the threat that waited for them, the young captain and her crew slowly walked out of the train, finally stepping into Tokyo.


	34. TOKYO - Part 4

Minutes before the sun would hide away behind the tall structures that extended into the sky, the young captain stepped down the bullet train. This was her first step into the mysterious city of Tokyo. 

Unlike the previous station, many railroads surrounded them as they stepped down, and yet, there was no sight of any other trains. Even though the other station seemed to be in an abandoned state, a sensation of solitude was even more prevalent here. With the sun setting down, the buildings of the city were quick to get illuminated with blinding lights. 

That was true for all the buildings except this one. 

Even though some of the light from the surrounding structures would reach them, the darkness that surrounded them had become very noticeable. Needless to say, this was making everyone feel uneasy. 

“What now?” Yohane was the first person to break the silence. 

It was true that they had finally reached their objective, they had reached Tokyo, but things wouldn’t be so simple. Even though Yohane had no real idea of what the layout of the area was like, simply staring at the sky and the sea of buildings surrounding them was enough to tell them that Tokyo was a lot bigger than they had expected. Finding the others wouldn’t be so easy like this.

“I have a suggestion.” 

The girl with long wavy hair rose up her hand as she spoke. This had caused everyone to turn around and look at her but she didn’t seem to mind.

“What is it?” The fallen angel asked, legitimately curious about her ideas.

“Let’s sleep.”

“…”

“How can you want to sleep at a time like this and here of all places?!” Yohane approached her, pulling the girl by her shirt and shaking her. “Do you have any idea of the kind of situation we are in?! We are walking right into the Armageddon!!” 

But even while being shaken violently, Kanata simply let out a yawn not even bothering to stop Yohane.

“Yoshiko, you sure are getting worked up about this girl, zura.” Hanamaru smirked.

“Zuramaru!! You stay out of this!!”

“Let’s calm down.” Riko sighed placing a hand on Yohane’s shoulder before stepping forward. “We do need to come up with a good strategy or we might end up in a really bad situation.”

“If we are going to rescue my sister and the others then we have to go to the A-RISE headquarters, I’m sure that is where they are.” Ria spoke in a calm tone despite growing more and more impatient about this situation. “It will still take some time to get there, but I can guide you.”

“So it’s straight to the enemy’s base, huh?” You brought a hand to her chin, she wanted to make sure there were no flaws in her strategy, but she knew there wasn’t much time to think either. 

“Let’s go!!” Ruby nodded enthusiastically. “Ruby will do her Rubesty to save sis and the others!!”

“Hm…” Kanata looked up at the skies while lost in thought before rising up her hand one again. “I don’t think you should go there.”

Everyone stared at her in silence for a moment. Despite her odd personality her words just now had dropped an incredible weight on them. Of course, anyone in their right minds could have told them the same thing. After all what they were doing was almost suicidal, but maybe because of how odd this girl’s overall aura was, it made everyone scared to even question her about it. 

“Why do you say that?” You asked. Even if she was scared as well, she couldn’t run away from this.

“Hm?” Kanata tilted her head to the side. “I saw it in a dream so I can’t remember too well. What was it…? Oh… right, the UTX building. I saw that place completely collapsed and destroyed, was there more to it…? That’s all I remember.”

“A dream?” Riko had trouble taking any of this seriously as she liked to keep her train of thought on a more logical side.

“That’s impossible.” Ria refuted immediately. “There’s no way that place would fall just like that.”

“Thank you, I’ll keep it in mind.” The gray haired girl spoke with a sincere tone. “But there is something we have to do there, so we can’t afford to run away.”

“Is that so? Hm… I understand.” Kanata nodded. “I have to look for Haruka but I can accompany you to the exit of the station at least.”

“Haruka?” Ruby couldn’t help but feel curious after realizing this girl was looking for someone as well. 

“That’s right!” Kanata smiled at her. “She’s my little sister! Even though she’s very reliable I can’t just leave her alone you know.” 

And then, everyone went silent once more.

Even though they just barely met her, knowing she wouldn’t be able to accompany them was a little disheartening. If possible Ruby would have loved to hear more about her sister and even lend her a hand. Her strange powers may also have been a really great asset in order to infiltrate the enemy’s headquarters but at the same time none of them could bring themselves to ask for her help. After all, asking for her help meant pushing her to risk her life as well; there was no reason to involve any more people in such a dangerous situation. 

“Are you… going to be okay on your own?” Ria asked before she could realize it herself. “I’m sure she’s looking for you as well, and this city isn’t exactly a resort.”

“I’ll be fine!” Kanata reassured her, sounding oddly energetic. “I need to do my best as the elder sister! Hm… is it like this? Yeah… I’ll do my Rubesty!”

“Pigi!!”

“Alright!” You slammed her fist against her palm in order to fire herself up. “In that case let’s get going, the others must be waiting for us after all!” 

“Knowing Mari and Dia I wouldn’t be surprised if they already broke free and trashed the place, zura.” Hanamaru muttered under her breath.

“Certainly.” Yohane couldn’t help but agree, both possessed really high destructive power after all.

 

Leaving the lights of the city behind the group started walking into the station’s building. The further in they walked the more an eerie sensation loomed over them. Even without any lights being on at the building they could still see thanks to the little light that entered through the windows. 

It was hard to tell for how long this place had been abandoned. By taking a simple glance, everything looked very clean, it wouldn’t have been hard to believe that people had been using this station just earlier today, but at the same time a strong feeling of desolation was deeply spread all across the place. 

With all electricity in the building being down, they were able to move past the opened ticket gates with ease. 

Soon, they were standing in the middle of a wide dome-shaped room. The room was wide and hollow, allowing them to see all the way to the top, three stories up. You had never been in a place like this before but taking a simple glance around it was hard to believe that this still part of a train station. If anything, the scene before her looked more like an art museum. 

As if staring directly at her, she was able to see the figure of a stone dragon hanging from the ceiling. It radiated a powerful and imposing aura as rays of light from the moon covered its face. Around the dragon, there were eleven more animals, all representing a different member from the Chinese zodiac.

Everyone slowed down their pace by instinct, taking their time to admire the strange scenery surrounding them as they moved towards the exit of the station. However, this helped them notice something: the sound of loud steps running at a high speed. 

The sounds of several people running in their direction became louder and louder, making everyone come to a quick halt. You and Riko looked at each other, then at everyone else and nodded. Their immediate plan was to run away, but the speed at which the enemy approached was way faster than any of them could have imagined. 

Before a single one of them could give a single step, the doors to the central room of the station were wide open. At least one hundred people all wearing black and pink uniforms rushed into the room, surrounding everyone and blocking out both the exit and the door from which they came from. The soldiers of UTX had moved at such a high speed and with such precise movements that none of them were given any time to react. 

“Tch.” The young captain frowned. “They are here already?!”

They found themselves surrounded by a fully armed army. Even in the darkness of the room it was easy to tell they were all holding many different weapons. As if moving in perfect formation, the ones at the front all pointed at You’s group with large guns while other members stood behind them while holding swords and lances. 

“Uh…” Kanata yawned. “I surrender.”

“Don’t give me that!!” Yohane gave a step forward, she was growing annoyed. “Heh, as if these mere mortals were able to do anything anyway!”

“Be careful.” Riko warned her with a stern tone. “We aren’t in a position to make any mistakes.”

“No, she is right.” This time, Ria was the one to take a step forward. “If they will stand in our way then we just have to crush them.”

“Crush them? Zura?”

“Ruby doesn’t want to fight, but if these people are trying to hurt sis then…”

“I know that but-!” 

Riko was still uneasy about fighting such a large amount of enemies, but even then, they weren’t in a situation where it was their choice to make. With all their escape routes sealed off, the enemy didn’t wait for them to finish talking or to make a proper decision. 

The room was illuminated by multiple blasts of light all coming out of the soldiers’ guns. A cloud of smoke rose up as the crashing sounds of multiple impacts echoed all across the dome-like room, with each impact, different attributes of magic were released. Wind, Water, Fire and Earth all spread across the room, releasing its destructive power across the center where the captain’s group stood. 

The room remained silent, only the sound of the soldiers loading up their guns again with magical bullets could be heard, but then, the counterattack immediately begun. 

From within the smoke, at least three different bullets were sent flying back towards the group of soldiers, forcing them to break their formation as their own power exploded releasing a burst of fire and an orb of slashing wind. 

Behind the cloud of smoke, the captain stood with her hand shrouded by what looked like ice. She had used that hand to punch the bullets right back at the soldiers, and then, without hesitation, she charged towards them at full speed. 

“I guess we have no choice!” You clenched her fists, shrouding them in frozen solid ice magic. “We are taking them down and getting out of here!!”

She wasn’t the only one who charged against her enemies. Seeing the young captain fight back and with the rush of adrenaline after being under attack, everyone decided to fight back at full force. Everyone except the girl with long wavy hair who rubbed her eyes while standing in the same spot at the center of the room.

“Fine then!” Riko swung her hand across the air, blowing away soldier who charged at her with a sword. “But don’t let your guard down no matter what!”

“You don’t need to tell me that!” 

Yohane countered a magical bullet with a fireball shrouded in burning black fire. However, she was quickly pulled back by Hanamaru, barely letting her dodge three different bullets that came from different directions.

“I won’t be able to save you again, so please hold them back for me zura.” 

Hanamaru smiled and pulled out her book, allowing it to float in midair. She slammed her hand against the book, letting it glow with a powerful light as she began charging up her energy.

“W-Wait, are you going to do that here?!” Yohane stared at Hanamaru in shock. 

The short girl with long brown hair didn’t give Yohane any response; instead she closed her eyes as she continued to let her energy charge up more and more. The room rapidly became illuminated by a blinding light as Hanamaru’s magic gathered, however this also left her wide open for any incoming attacks.

“Tch.” 

Yohane stepped forward, releasing a tall wall of fire that surrounded both of them, she had no choice but to get serious in order to protect her and buy her time. This meant that using her roulette magic was also out of the question. 

In contrast to everyone else’s fast movements and reactions, Ria and Ruby both walked slowly as they approached a wall of enemies that charged their way.

“Make sure you don’t hold me back.” Ria scoffed, forcefully extending out her right arm which was still handcuffed with Ruby. 

“Ruby…Ruby will show you what she can do!!” The young alchemist responded by throwing out a kick with her left leg. 

The moment Ruby’s feet made contact with the ground, the golden light of alchemy was released. It transformed the floor into a giant projectile made of solid steel that flew against her enemies without mercy, slamming them against the wall. 

At the same time, Ria used her hand to release her magic. The floor below her enemies glowed with a bright yellow light before releasing a grand explosion which sent them flying almost two stories up followed by a merciless rain of spears that shot from within the surge of light on the floor. 

As a soldier that had taken on the full force of Ria’s attack rained down, You dodged their falling body, moving to the side and slamming her fist into their abdomen, using their body as a projectile to send against the group of soldiers that charged towards her. However, that group wasn’t all she had to worry about. After all, no matter how many soldiers they had managed to hit with their attacks, they were still vastly outnumbered. 

The young captain didn’t even have the chance to turn around to try and dodge the incoming attacks; instead she surrounded herself with a barrier of bubbles while elbowing the soldier that came at her with a sword, twisting their wrist and disarming them in a swift movement. Even if the power of her water magic was nowhere as high as Kanan’s, You’s physical strength was still a force to be reckoned with. 

On the other hand the princess was heavily relying on her magic in order to defend herself. As spears and blades flew in her direction, she stopped them millimeters before they could pierce her skin using her wind as a barrier. Immediately after, her wind magic started spinning around her body, making the weapons fly around her like a tornado of blades. The force of her wind was powerful enough to force the swords out of some soldier’s hands and force them to step away so that they wouldn’t get caught up in her attack. 

The wind continued to spin around her, growing faster and letting out a howl. It started making the stone figures hanging from the ceiling to sway from side to side. Many soldiers attempted breaking through her magic by shooting at her but her bullets only joined the weaponry that danced around across the tornado, and then, with perfect timing, all the weapons were released at once. 

Spears, swords and bullets all flew across the air with perfect rhythm, running towards the enemies at full speed while gracefully dodging the trajectory of their allies. 

As the enemy army continued to be reduced in numbers a loud scream drowned out all the battle noises that had spread across that room. 

“Get away, zura!!!!!!”

“?!”

You and Riko were both quick to react as a blinding yellow light reflected on their bodies. They ran away as fast as they could, pushing some soldiers into Hanamaru’s range as they did so. With an explosive sound, a massive blast of earth energy shot from within Hanamaru’s book. The amount of energy she had released was so powerful everyone could feel a hot burning sensation on their skin even if they were not hit by the attack. The large beam of energy was so grand it had covered the room in the shape of a crescent moon, taking out every single remaining soldier in one hit.

The light of her magic faded away and Yohane was quick to help support an exhausted Hanamaru who was ready to collapse against the cold floor.

“We did it, zura.” The brunette gave them a thumbs up. 

Looking around them, there wasn’t a single soldier that could still stand. They had been forced to release a lot of powerful magic at once but they had managed to defeat the enemy without suffering any loses. 

Riko took a deep breath as You fell exhausted to the ground.

“What now?” The red wine haired princess asked with an expression of worry. “I wouldn’t put it past them to send reinforcements soon.”

“You are right.” The gray haired captain quickly stood up while trying to catch her breath. “For now we need to hurry and get away from here.”

_“Reinformencents?”_

An unknown voice reached them, snapping Kanata awake and making everyone grow increasingly anxious.

_”Get away from here?”_

Ria who recognized that voice clearly opened her eyes wide and yelled trying to alert everyone.

“We need to get away from here that’s-!!”

But it was too late. The girl with long brown hair who wore the A-RISE uniform was already standing inside the room. Even without knowing much about her, seeing her clothes was enough to tell them who they were dealing with. After all, the memories from their encounter with Tsubasa was still fresh in their minds, there was no doubt that this was a member of A-RISE. 

You was well aware than an unbelievable enemy was standing before her, but unlike Tsubasa, there was something extremely unsettling about this person. Despite bringing them so many bad memories, despite not knowing what this person was capable of, Anju didn’t emit any imposing aura or feeling of danger. 

In fact, her very presence had instantly turned the battlefield into something pleasant. It was a strange sensation that could lure anyone towards her. A sensation that would let you wash away your worries, something that told you everything was fine. 

But at the same time, that pleasant aura is what made her the most dangerous. 

The moment You found herself snapping awake from that strange and pleasant emotion, it was already too late. 

(Huh?)

Something inside You’s mind didn’t make sense. Her… clothes? That was one of the reasons she was able to tell she was one of the members from A-RISE right away, they were clearly different from all the other soldiers. But… the room had fallen into deep darkness once the fighting was over. Being inside a large room in the middle of a blackout made it hard to see, so how could she see her clothes so clearly?

“Is something the matter?” Anju’s sweet voice reached You’s ears. 

She felt like she was snapped awake once more at that moment. Anju’s violet eyes reflected You’s shocked figure. She was standing just mere millimeters away from her now. Just when did this person get so close? No, Anju didn’t need to move at all. The one that had moved and gotten so close was You. At some point her body had begun to act against her will and approached Anju but her mind didn’t register this action at all.

But You hadn’t been the only one affected by Anju’s comforting aura. They had noticed the captain approaching one of their deadliest enemies and they had done nothing about it. When their thoughts had caught up with the situation everyone stared at the scene before them in shock, it almost felt as if time itself had been skipped. 

And yet, that wasn’t the end of it. 

In the blink of an eye, not only were the hundred soldiers they had taken down completely healed, but had moved back into formation and surrounded them. No, they had even improved their formation. Every single soldier had now taken a defensive stance; it was likely that even if they fought again they would be fully prepared for any of their incoming attacks. 

No one could even begin to comprehend what happened, and even if they did, it didn’t make a change. Not only were they put in a situation where they would enter a fight after having used most of their magic already but it was a situation where the enemy could easily anticipate their moves. 

Riko shook her head and tried to order her thoughts. What could she do? No matter how many different scenarios she tried to run on her head, she couldn’t find one where they could get away so easily. 

Breaking the silence, the soldiers finally made their move. However, instead of attacking all at once like before, they started moving backwards as if they were in sync. With this, their figures became all hidden in the darkness. There was no telling where their attacks would even come from like this.

But even if the soldiers were dangerous, Riko could tell it was nothing compared to the person standing before them. 

“How about we take it easy first? I’m not here to fight you, you know~” Anju gave You a wink. 

“Huh?”

“You came here because you wanted to save your friends and stop us, right?” Anju’s sing-sung voice was pleasant to hear, it was relaxing and extremely comforting. “It doesn’t take much to realize there is something wrong with Tsubasa and the others, I would love to be of assistance.”

“Wait a second.” Riko immediately refuted. “Even if you say that, the fact you brought an army and had them fight us should be enough proof that you are lying.”

“I don’t blame you, that’s a really fair point.” Anju nodded. “You see, I need allies but it’s not like I can take just anyone, Tsubasa and the others aren’t pushovers, so a test like this was just in order.”

“Are you being serious?” You glared at her.

The captain wasn’t about to trust her so easily but at the same time, something deep inside continued to push her. It was the same strange, comforting feeling that spread across everyone the moment Anju stepped into the room. It was an overwhelming warm emotion, but she knew it was something she shouldn’t trust. 

“Of course I am!” Anju raised her voice. “I can’t stand to see my friends like this, I need to save them!!”

“You want to save them…?”

As she said these words, Anju’s comforting pressure only grew stronger. Once more, before her mind could even catch up, You found herself stretching out her hand towards the member of A-RISE.

“Of course I do! So what do you say? How about you come with me?” Anju stretched out her hand as well.

“No.” Ria whispered under her breath. “Don’t listen to her.”

The purple pigtail girl’s voice was ever so faint that it couldn’t reach anyone except for Ruby who stared at her confused.

“Ria…?”

But You’s hand continued moving closer and closer about to fall into Anju’s grasp at any moment.

“You can’t do that!! Stop!!!!”

With a loud scream, Ria used all her strength, breaking the cuffs that kept her tied to Ruby. The red pigtail girl tried reaching out to her but it was too late. Ria knew she had to do something, she knew that it would all be over if she didn’t. 

And just as You’s fingers were about to touch Anju’s palm, a powerful noise resounded. 

Ria had gathered her magic in her fist, dashing towards Anju and throwing out a devastating punch. At the moment of impact, You could feel her body being sent back thanks to the air pressure from the recoil. It was the same punch that had broken apart solid metal before. This time, it had opened a clear hole around Anju’s torso, letting a pool of blood flood out from her.

“That’s okay...” Even while coughing out blood, she held Ria’s arm into a tight grasp. The corners of her lips then curled into a smile as she glared into Ria’s eyes. “I finally have you in my range, little Ria~”

The room was illuminated by a bright blinding light with Ria at the center and the sound of a powerful blast resounded across the city.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They just announced a dabbing Ruby figure, we are in a truly blessed timeline.
> 
> Also! We've reached 3k hits! That means there will be 3 side-stories now! For once, I'll give you the deadline for the first one, it should be up on the 1st of March!


	35. TOKYO - Part 5

The roaring sound of a powerful blast drowned out the noises of the city in the middle of the night. The light that had come from the release of this magic was great enough to make everything look as bright as daytime if just for a few seconds. 

“Wha-?!” Ria opened her eyes wide. 

Just now she had been rendered powerless by Anju’s tight grasp on her arm. She was certain that her attack would connect no matter what and yet, she found herself completely unscathed. No, at the moment the impact reached her ears she had felt her body being tackled away. 

As the light dissipated the scene before her left Ria speechless. 

The person standing before her was the young captain. You had acted at the very last second, forcing Ria out of the way and taking the full force of the attack. You’s clothes had been soaked in the red of her blood as her very bones let out a cracking noise. 

“I told you…” The captain could barely let out her words. “It’s a captain’s duty to make sure her entire crew makes it back.”

Having said this, she collapsed into the floor. Screams from everyone else in the room filled the place while resounding deep inside Ria. 

…

…

?

Something wasn’t right. Something had changed. Even though the lingering noises of the screams still resounded inside Ria’s ears, there was no noise around her anymore. Even though she had just been standing there, even though she didn’t take her eyes away from that scene, it changed. 

Ria found herself standing a few steps back, she could see the back of the captain that stood a few meters away, completely unscathed. Soon, she realized another strange sensation, the sensation of cold metal around her wrist. 

“…?!” 

Once she tried to move she was able to confirm it, she was still handcuffed to the young alchemist. 

“Ria?” 

She could hear Ruby’s voice questioning her. What just happened? 

But as she looked around, she could tell that something had definitely happened there. Everyone had expressions of shock and confusion in their faces. There was no way she was just imagining things.

“W…What did you?” 

You’s eyes widened as she held her chest with a tight grasp. Her body was completely unscathed, in fact she felt with even more energy than before, but even if she had no physical damage she had taken quite a big mental shock. The gray haired girl couldn’t stop herself from taking deep breaths and slowly stepped back as her legs continued to shake. 

She couldn’t explain what happened but there was something she knew for sure. Just now, she had experienced what it was like to step into the realm of death. If only for just a moment, she could feel the very essence of life leaving her body. Just thinking about it was causing her body to shake with absolute terror. There was no way for her to even put that feeling into words. 

“How are you feeling?” Anju tilted her head while speaking with an innocent tone. “I’m so sorry, that probably hurt a lot, didn’t it?”

As she spoke, she moved closer, moving her hand towards You’s head as if to give her a pat. 

Reacting entirely on instinct You jumped back, taking several steps behind to get as far away from Anju as possible. 

Riko and Yohane both stepped forward to shield You behind them. Seeing her in such a state of fear was rapidly getting to them but they knew they had to act at a time like this.

“It’s okay.” Anju tried to reassure them. “I healed you since that wasn’t meant for you.”

Healing? It was no surprise to Ria that Anju had exceptional healing abilities. From the moment she entered the stage she had healed her entire army in just a second, but something was making Ria uneasy. Ever since she showed up and just now as well, something was off. This wasn’t just healing. After all… when did she walk back to where Ruby was? When did she get handcuffed again? 

But as Ria continued to try and understand the situation, she soon felt everyone’s eyes on her. She had shut down everything while lost in thought so she felt at a loss as to why everyone was staring at her with a scary expression in their faces. 

It only took a moment for her to find out. Anju’s finger was pointing right towards her as she smiled. 

“I just told you, didn’t I? I want to save my friends and that means I will eliminate traitors if I have to.”

“Traitor…?” You repeated out loud while trying to make sense of the situation.

“Of course. She has been working for us but they thought I wouldn’t find out.” Anju spoke as her eyes locked with Ria. “Why don’t you tell them the truth? Tell them that you wanted to destroy Tsubasa and take over the city for yourselves.”

“Wha-?!” Ria attempted refuting but she was given no room to speak.

“After all, this was part of your plan as well, wasn’t it? You planned to join these girls and lure them into the city so that you could get rid of them. You are lying about having to save your sister as well. After all, what do you think took all their companions away? It was void magic. The same kind of magic your sister can use. Isn’t that a little too convenient?”

“She didn-!!”

“Sorry but I won’t allow that.” Anju’s voice lowered, sounding more and more serious. “I will protect these girls from you and save my friends.”

Ria was at a loss for words. She could feel everyone’s piercing gazes locked on her. For just a moment, just a tiny moment, they had been the first people Ria got to spend time with. They were the first people that had made her feel like they could be friends. But now, she could see all of that breaking apart before her. Yet… it was to be expected, wasn’t it? 

There was no reason for them to believe in her. 

It was always the same. There was never a reason for anyone to trust her.   
It was always the same. There was never a reason for anyone to want her around.   
It was always the same. There was never a reason for anyone to be friends with her. 

And yet, a piercing scream shattered apart all of her thoughts in an instant.

“R…RUBY BELIEVES IN RIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

“?!”

“There is no way that she is a traitor! There is no way she would lie about her sister like that!!” Ruby continued to scream, stepping forward towards Anju with no fear. “Ruby can feel it!! She can feel how earnest her words are!! She can feel how much she wants to protect the person who is precious to her, because Ruby is the same!!!!”

Little by little, everyone’s glares turned into a relaxed expression. Giving Ria a reassuring nod, everyone slowly turned around, this time, glaring at Anju instead.

“If Ruby says so, then I will believe in Ria as well, zura!!”

“Hmph!” Yohane crossed her arms. “You need to try harder than that if you truly think you will trick a fallen angel so easily!!”

“What…?” Ria couldn’t understand what was happening.

“Besides.” Riko spoke her thoughts out loud while trying to put the dots together. “If Seira is free to use her magic right now, there was no need for them to make that plan in the first place. She could easily take us all away. Let’s not forget you have mastered magic of very high level along with your own personal army which has obviously not used its full power against us. If you were serious about saving your friends, did you really think that a small group like us could be of any better help?” 

“…” 

“I’ve seen how strong Ria is by myself.” You took a deep breath, slowly but surely she was able to put herself together again. “If she truly wanted to get rid of us she could have done it right away. After all, she’s strong enough to break free from her restrains at any time. A good captain will believe in their crew no matter what!”

“So, we all agree this lady here is lying, right?” Kanata nodded to herself.

What… was this feeling? Ria could feel really sharp pain stabbing into her chest, yet, this was different from before. Along with the pain, she was also engulfed by a strange, warm feeling. She couldn’t even think properly anymore. This sensation was drowning her out, taking her over.

What is this? What is this? What is this? What is this?

Was this… how it felt like to not be invisible anymore? Was this how it felt like to have friends? To belong somewhere? 

Was it okay to feel this?

“Aw, and here I thought we could be good friends.” Anju pouted while bringing a hand to her cheek. “Hehe, I guess you could say that was a lie! Who knows, maybe it wasn’t!”

“Everyone, listen.” You stepped forward while clenching her fists. “I am going to give you all an order that you must follow at all costs. Make it out of here alive!”

Listening to You’s words helped everyone realize what kind of situation they were in with more clarity. After all, even if it only lasted for an instant, the image of the captain falling before them was burnt into their memories. This wasn’t like any other kind of enemy they had faced before; there was no telling what could happen at all. 

“Ria.” As Ruby spoke, the light of alchemy covered the handcuffs making them fade away into the air. “Ruby is counting on you!”

“Hmn!” Ria could only reply with a nod. 

The moment the girls charged towards Anju the coordinated sound of weapons being pointed at them from within the shadows could be heard. However, before Anju’s army could join the combat she simply raised her hand making a signal for them to stay put. 

They were making sure to go all out from the very start. The temperature inside the entire room was fast to drop as ice magic gathered on You’s fist. She shot a punch forward towards Anju while Riko approached her from the other side, releasing multiple wind slashes that would seal all of her escape routes. 

Anju on the other hand, showed no hint of worry or hesitation. Her attacks were as strange as always. The sound of ice breaking echoed across the room as You’s magic was shattered apart and Riko’s wind waves ran across the dome-like room, crashing into the walls without hitting a solid target. 

The darkness of the room was illuminated as bright yellow light ran from all directions, trapping Anju under a large circle of earth magic. This allowed both You and Riko to get a clearer vision of the enemy. It looked like Anju had only taken a single step to dodge their attack from earlier but that wasn’t right, taking a closer look it was if they were standing closer the left side of the room, something they didn’t recall doing. It wasn’t that Anju had dodged their attacks from earlier; they had launched it towards the wrong direction without even realizing it. 

You and Riko glanced at each other and nodded. As Hanamaru’s earth magic released a massive blast of light from beneath Anju’s feet, hundreds of bubbles began spinning across the air. They were rapidly reinforced by wind magic, turning into deathly bullet-like projectiles, the same attack they had used when they first fought the dragons near Uchiura. 

And to completely seal her within their attacks, Yohane followed by releasing a pillar of burning fire that descended from up in the air. 

This time, the attacks had all made direct contact. Pieces of stone flew across the room as the very floor where Anju stood was shattered apart and soon all the attacks dissipated to show them the destroyed area.

“I see, that kind of attack wasn’t bad, no wonder you were able to make it all the way here.”

For just a second, they could see the image of Anju badly hurt and bleeding but it had happened so fast they couldn’t even tell if what they saw was real. Anju’s wounds had healed in an instant. The floor below her feet being completely shattered was enough to tell them that their attacks had indeed made contact but it was no use if she could heal herself with so much ease. 

“Zura?! How did you-?!”

Even while being experienced on magic and an exceptional healer, Hanamaru was at a loss for words after getting to see Anju’s healing ability firsthand. She couldn’t identify what kind of magic she used at all, if anything, it felt like there was a big gap of information that she had no idea how to fill. 

“Are you surprised? This is still low-level healing though!”

Taking chance of the second the A-RISE member was distracted, a giant tablet of steel shot forward in her direction at full speed. As expected, her reflexes were fast letting her dodge the attack by moving to the side but they weren’t about to give her an opening so easily.

“Hahhh!!!” 

Ria’s let out a battle yell as she ran towards the piece of steel. Using all her strength she took hold of the tablet by the edges, spun around to keep the momentum and slammed it against Anju’s body at full force. 

“Ruby!” “Yeah!!”

At that moment the red haired pigtail girl dashed towards Anju and slammed her fist against the ground to release her alchemy. Another massive block of metal shot from within the ground, lifting up Anju high up. Using perfect coordination, Ria jumped up high, gathering all her strength in her fist and slamming it deep into Anju’s gut, breaking apart the very piece of metal behind her as Anju’s body was sent crashing full force into the ground.

Ria then landed next to Ruby, making sure to keep her distance from the spot where Anju had fallen. There was silence inside the room. Even after such a devastating attack Ria was well aware that this was a member of A-RISE they were talking about, there was no way it would be so easy. There would have been no way, but maybe, just maybe…

“Hm.” 

Kanata continued watching without moving from the same spot. There was something strange about this situation. It’s not like she wasn’t well aware that she was also in danger, but at the same time she couldn’t shake away the feeling that this wasn’t really her business. It was possible that she had her reasons but something told her she shouldn’t get involved. 

Not wanting to get involved in anything that was a bother was her way of living. If something was too stressing or if she felt like her actions wouldn’t amount to anything, she would rather sleep it off. Even if others would always question her behavior or think about her as lazy, the truth was that not dealing with things was her way of dealing with things. She never expected others to understand this logic, but that was okay. No one needed to understand, it didn’t matter. As long as she could take it easy, that was fine. 

That was fine and yet… this was one of the few times where she questioned if not being involved was okay. After listening to what everyone had to say, even if she didn’t know all the details she more or less had a gist of the situation, it’s not like she couldn’t tell who was right or wrong. 

Lying dormant deep inside her, there was a tiny little spark trying to push her to take action. What was it like to take action for others and not for yourself? She couldn’t quite understand the concept but at the same time she wanted to learn more, she wanted to understand, she wanted to experience it.

But maybe, just as always, by the time she decided to act, it was already too late.

The silence was abruptly broken. They could see the figure of the tall girl with long brown hair standing up as the light of the moon completely illuminated the room. 

“Not bad!” Anju nodded. Despite everything, her tone was as calm and sweet as ever. “I would have loved to see how much you’d be able to grow.”

Sparkles of light began to gather in her hand. It was as if the very light of the moon was materializing in her palm as energy, and then, all she had to was to crush those small sparks inside her fist. 

It was a simple, soft and quick movement and yet, it released a massive, powerful and immense blast of energy. 

A large wave of energy exploded within the room with an extremely loud sound. The destructive power it had released was great enough to inflict damage on every single person at that place and yet the scene it created was a beautiful scene where gentle sparkles of light rained down the hall like stardust. 

Beneath the beautiful scene created by Anju’s magic, lied a mountain of lifeless bodies. The impact had sent everyone crashing against the walls with enough force to shatter their bodies apart.

“Ah... is this it…?” 

Kanata stared at the floor, barely able to open her eyes. The sensation of all life leaving her body was embracing her. She couldn’t even feel her body anymore, nor could she even tell what state it was in, all she could feel was her consciousness slowly fading away.

But just as fast as it happened, her consciousness all came back in an instant.

Having felt the embrace of death for a second time, You stared at the floor while breathing heavily. At that moment all the other girls were fast to regain consciousness as well but they were all speechless. Their bodies had been fully healed but their very hearts had been tainted by absolute terror. 

“Are you okay, zura?!”

Hanamaru snapped herself out of it after noticing the soldiers that lied on the floor just next to her. Unlike them, the soldiers had kept their deadly wounds and a strong, heavy aura of death fell inside the room as their bodies continued to grow colder. 

“H-Hey…” Yohane approached a soldier lying down just next to her. Their head had been bent on an unnatural angle and their body was covered with bruises. “Are you still… alive…? Answer me!!”

Still trying her best to catch her breath You couldn’t help but to stare in shock at the fallen soldiers. Even with the fear that continued to hold her back, anger started to rush rapidly to her head.

“Aren’t you going to heal your comrades?!”

“Ah, it seems like you are mistaken.” Anju raised a finger as she gave her explanation. “Healing magic doesn’t work on corpses, you should be thankful I brought you back just in time.”

“…”

“Is that… what your comrades were to you?” Ria couldn’t help but to question her. “Is that what they are to you, just something disposable?!”

“I guess so.”

“How dare you…” You slowly stood up, clenching her fists with so much force her nails were burying into her palm. “How dare you!!!”

“I see.” Anju looked down at the ground, almost looking sad if for just a moment. “It is what it is. That being said the moment you take another step you will have taken your last breath.”

It was such an ominous statement. Had it come from anyone else it would be something they would have brushed off right away, but this was a member of A-RISE. It was more than clear that this person wasn’t all talk, she had the power to back up her statement. They had just experienced it firsthand and what’s more, none of them could understand how her power worked at all. 

Just a moment ago everyone was fired up and ready to go, they were ready to force their way through but all it had taken was a single action from the enemy to intimidate them. 

They couldn’t help but to freeze on their spot while trying to think of all the possible scenarios.   
Should they really try to fight back? Should they just run away? No, it wasn’t so simple. Could they even run away in the first place? 

But they had to do something. They couldn’t just stand there, not after watching this. 

Getting taken over by her anger, You was the first one to try and move forward but Riko quickly stopped her on the spot, holding her back by her waist.

“Wait!” Riko’s voice trembled. “That last statement, it’s not something she said just for the sake of it. We can’t do anything careless!!”

“What can we even do then?! We have no choice!! I’m going to take her down!!!” 

You struggled but Riko held her back with even more force. 

Ria could feel anger rapidly boiling inside her as well. She was angry at Anju and her calm smile as she threatened everyone’s lives. But above all, she was angry at herself. She was angry at how powerless she was, she was angry at how the fear inside her body stopped her from acting. 

She was scared that it would end just like before, that her taking action could result in the loss of someone’s life. Even though these were enemies she had no care for not long ago, right now, they were people she wanted to protect. 

She couldn’t let it end here just like that, it didn’t matter what happened to her, as long as she made an opening for them to escape then that was okay. If it was these people, if it was Ruby, then they would surely be able to save her sister. 

There was no time to hesitate. Steeling herself, Ria began moving forward, but then…

“That’s okay.” 

Someone finally gave a response to Anju’s statement. It was a soft and sleepy voice followed by the sound of steps. 

As the girl with long wavy hair continued walking forward, she gave both Ruby and Ria a pat on the back before she spoke. 

“You are just as capable as Haruka, so I can’t lose to that, you know?”

“What are you…?” Ria spoke but her words were faint and barely audible.

In response to the person who dared to challenge her, small sparks of light began to gather on Anju’s palm.

“There is something you have to accomplish, right? But I’d like to ask for a favor as well. If you meet Haruka, please give her my message.”

“Bye bye~” Anju smiled, releasing a powerful blast that would engulf everything one more time. 

But the tall girl with wavy hair wasn’t scared. She simply stepped forward with determination. Being able to take action for others, maybe this time she could understand it properly. Maybe this time, she could still do something before it was too late.

“Tell her that big sis Kanata is proud of her!”

The last image that reflected on the girls’ eyes was the image of Kanata’s back as the rays of the moon covered her body. Her very figure then became shrouded in light from Anju’s devastating attack. 

It all happened in an instant, so no one was able to even say a word. Everyone’s body was hurled into the air as if it was moved by some strange force. Before they could realize it, they were lying down on the streets of Tokyo just outside the station building. But the building itself was completely engulfed by a strange energy that looked like black space with pink and purple grids running across it. It was the same strange space Kanata had created to protect the bullet train before.

“Tch. As if I would let this happen!” You was fast to stand up but Riko held her back before she could run back to the station.

“We have to run away!! Even if we go back, there is nothing we can do!!”

“I’m not running and leaving someone behind!”

“If we go back what she did will all be for nothing!!”

Everyone remained frozen on the spot, lost in absolute distress. But even then, simply remembering the very embrace of death they experienced was enough to tell them that Riko was right, there was nothing they could do.

Sinking her teeth into her lip, forced to accept the reality before her, the captain started running away from the station as fast as she could.

As the group escaped deeper into the city, a powerful blast resounded from inside the station and the strange space that had engulfed it all shattered apart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's the first "part 5" for a chapter! This brings us to the end of the "TOKYO" chapter but this arc is still just getting started!


	36. Hand in Hand - Part 1

For just a moment, darkness had enveloped Chika’s sight as a falling sensation spread through her body. Even though this wasn’t something she was familiar with, there was a thought that immediately came to mind: she had experienced this before. It was when she had her first confrontation with Tsubasa, just like back then, this had happened without any warning. Just thinking about it was enough for her to feel extreme discomfort but thankfully she wasn’t given enough time to continue her train of thought. 

As sudden as this sensation had started, it came to a quick end. She could feel her feet touching the ground but immediately fell down, losing her balance thanks to everything suddenly spinning inside her head. Less than a second after she fell, sounds of something falling around her reached her. At least six other figures all fell to the floor after manifesting in that place out of nowhere. 

“Ugh, that was awful.” Yukiho placed a hand over her forehead as she kneeled on the ground. “I’m never using void magic again.”

“So this is the power of void magic!!” Alisa jumped up with sparkles in her eyes. “The landing could have been better though.”

“Be glad we managed to land at all.” 

Huh? Who were these people? Chika couldn’t recognize their voices at all but it didn’t feel like she was in any immediate danger. If Tsubasa wasn’t the one who used void magic at that time, was it Seira? And more importantly, where was this? The orange haired girl felt like all she wanted was to sleep right now. After noticing the sensation in her hands, she could tell her palms were touching what felt like grass. A soft cold breeze ran by, letting her know that she was probably outdoors. 

“What… happened?” Seira muttered under her breath. 

Just like Chika, the purple side-tail girl felt extremely dizzy. She lied down on her back while her eyes stared at the sky above her. As everything slowly stopped spinning, she was able to observe a crescent moon which illuminated the area with its light. Judging by the skyscrapers blending with the scenery in the distance, it was a given that this was still Tokyo, and yet, being here felt like it wasn’t at all. 

“WHAT?!” 

Mari jumped up from under the pile of bodies, and sat down on the grass forcing Dia and Kanan to roll to the side.

“I feel sick.” Dia complained, refusing to get up. “Are you two okay?”

“Somehow.” Kanan took a deep breath, trying to put herself together. “What happened?”

“Sorry about that.” Yukiho stood up while looking at the girls who remained on the ground. “Using this kind of magic was a lot more complicated than I imagined, I’m glad you are all in one piece for starters.”

“Ah!” Mari pointed at the Auburn haired girl and raised her voice. “IT’S YOU!!!”

Startled by Mari’s sudden yell, everyone else jumped up startled. They sat down and turned around to look at the two people that stood before them.

“Eh?” 

Chika stared in awe at the two figures. At the moment, she couldn’t understand what it was, but it felt different than just meeting any stranger. No matter how she looked at it, she had no idea of who these people were and yet, a rush of excitement spread across her body. It was similar to the sensation she had felt the first time she met a member of A-RISE. Even though it was already the middle of the night, to Chika, it felt like they were shining brightly. 

“They are so radiant.” Chika and Dia both muttered under their breaths as if their thoughts had been in sync. 

Yukiho brought a finger to her chin as her eyes examined all the girls before her. She didn’t give much thought to their expression of shock and instead she glared at Mari. 

Kanan could feel her body tensing up. Was this a friend or an enemy? Despite still feeling sick she clenched her fist ready to take action as Yukiho approached Mari. 

“Don’t give me an “IT’S YOU!!” The girl who dressed like a knight pulled on Mari’s cheeks while imitating her voice. “What the hell are you doing getting caught like that?!”

“Ow, ow! But it all worked out in the end right?!”

“Like hell it did! You can’t be so irresponsible!”

“Finally someone who sees the truth!” 

Dia’s eyes lit up. She couldn’t believe that the day would come when someone other than her scolded Mari. 

“Right?!” Yukiho sounded excited to have someone agree with her. “We need to discipline her!”

“Now, now don’t be too harsh with her.” Alisa smiled petting Mari like she was a cat. “At least we are all okay!” 

“Listen.” Yukiho glared at the long haired blonde. “She is like this because you spoil her too much!”

“Do I?”

Kanan felt lost as she witnessed the scene before her. It was more than clear that these people didn’t mean any harm so her muscles quickly relaxed. However, who were these people? Seeing them get so familiar with Mari felt really strange. Looking at it from another perspective it was true that she didn’t know what happened with Mari after she left Numazu. She didn’t want to think too much about it, but there was something that scared her a bit deep inside. Did she really know Mari at all anymore?

“Wait a moment.” Seira walked towards them and interrupted their conversation. “H-How could you also use void magic?!”

Yukiho remained quiet and reached for her pocket. She moved so fast Seira’s eyes weren’t able to keep track of her movements, all she could feel was her body slightly being pushed back. Before she could realize it, Yukiho’s blue eyes were staring right into hers from a short distance. No, that wasn’t all, what looked like a long and thin piece of paper had been stuck on Seira’s forehead. The moment she noticed it, she could feel a quick spark of electricity spread across her body.

“W-Wha-?!” Seira jumped back startled, trying to pull away the paper but it was futile no matter how much force she used.

“You are a member of Saint Snow, aren’t you?” Yukiho spoke in a serious tone. “I have sealed your magic for now. It would be troublesome for you to escape.” 

“Sealed…?” Seira stared at her hand and tried to release electricity but only a tiny spark jumped up.

“And to answer your question, I can’t use void magic.” Yukiho finally explained. “That was your own void magic.”

“?!” 

Seira couldn’t even find any words to reply with. Standing before someone like this made her feel a strange kind of fear she hadn’t felt before. To be able not only to seal her magic but also use her magic against her will, just who was this person? But at the same time, was meeting someone like this the ray of hope she needed? 

“Yuki.” Mari spoke with a tired voice. “Is dinner ready yet? I’m _hungry_!”

“Y-Yuki?!” Her demeanor completely changed as if her “serious-mode” switch had been flipped off. “Don’t call me that! I’m your senior you know!”

“Hmph!” The blonde girl with a loop looked away. “Acting all high and mighty just because you are three years older!”

Finally taking her eyes away from the two girls, Chika began to curiously scan her surroundings. The scenery before her was unlike anything she had ever imagined. In contrast to the desolate land she had seen while making her way here, this place was surrounded by nature and bright colors. Red, yellow and green autumn trees spread across the area and she could even see what looked like a pond in the distance.

But looking at this place… she was sure she had seen it somewhere before. That’s right, this is a location that had been in her book, but what was it?

“Ah!!” Chika stood up as a light bulb lit over her head. “This is the imperial garden!!”

“What?!” Dia, Kanan and Seira all yelled in shock at the same time.

“Hm?” Alisa tilted her head. “Yukiho and I are the commanders of the imperial guards so of course it is.”

“WHAT?!” Everyone except for Mari screamed again.

“You didn’t even tell them that?” Yukiho gave Mari a death glare.

“Oops~”

“Mari…” 

The blonde could feel Dia’s death glare join in as she placed her hand on her shoulder.

“This idiot here hasn’t explained anything, has she?” Yukiho crossed her arms. 

“Not a single thing!!” The black haired girl was fast to complain. 

“Of course.” Yukiho scratched her head irritated. “How about we change locations first? I will give you a proper explanation.”

“Oh!” Alisa clapped her hands together. “How about you use void magic again to-!”

“No!”

 

Following Yukiho and Alisa, Chika and the others walked across the vast imperial garden. 

“Chika!” Dia called out to her as she looked at the environment around her with sparkling eyes. “We are here!!”

“I know!!” Chika replied enthusiastically. “The imperial garden!!”

“Is this place really that special?” Seira asked as she walked alongside them with an annoyed expression.

“Of course it is!!” The two girls replied in sync.

“I mean…” Seira pondered for a moment, taking this very seriously. “I can accept it looks outstanding but that’s about it.”

“What did you say?!” 

Dia was getting heated up but Chika extended out her arm to stop her and shook her head.

“You don’t understand.” She gave Seira a pat on the back. “This is the place where µ’s first fought together as a group of nine!!” 

“Me…ows?”

“Bzzt! That’s wrong! It’s µ’s!! The legendary heroes!! But that’s not all, while it’s true that they first fought here as a group it’s also an important location because this is where Honoka confronted Eli who was the commander of the imperial guards! ”

“Right…” 

Seira was starting to think that keeping her mouth shut was a much better idea but it was too late, escaping Chika and Dia’s rhythm when they were like this was nearly impossible. 

“Come to think of it…” Dia pondered for a moment. “Weren’t you working for A-RISE? If so, shouldn’t you know about µ’s as well?”

“Eh?”

“That’s true!” Chika suddenly grew a lot more curious. “A-RISE were µ’s rivals, they also played a big role in saving the world, you know.”

“W-Wait a moment!” Seira didn’t know what to do with the information she just received. “W-What are you even talking about?!”

“Calm down you two.” Kanan who was overhearing the conversation gave Chika and Dia a pat on the head. “How about you just show her the book instead?”

“Ah…” Chika froze on the spot. “Where… is it…?”

“If I recall correctly it should be inside the ship, so it is currently with You.”

But the moment Dia brought this up, sudden silence fell between them. They hadn’t been able to give it much thought before because of having to worry about their own situation first, but now that things had cooled down a little, they couldn’t help but wonder if You and the others were okay. 

“Do you think they are still waiting for us?” Chika asked. 

Given how dangerous Tokyo seemed to be, it might have been for the best if the others didn’t come here.

“They won’t come here.” Seira stated with absolute certainty. “Even if they try to, Ria will stop them.”

“Hmph!” Dia scoffed at her. “That girl wouldn’t be able to win against Ruby!”

“What did you say?!” 

“What? Does hearing the truth make you angry?” 

“S-Say what you will but I’ll have you know that Ria is dependable and stronger than me!”

“Maybe we should step away for a bit…” Kanan whispered as she approached Chika.

“What? Is this a FIGHT?!” Mari joined them enthusiastically. “My money is on PRETTY BOMBER HEAD!!”

“What did you just call Ruby?!”

“How does she know she’s talking about Ruby…” Seira couldn’t keep up with their intensity at all.

Everyone’s arguing voices spread across the garden but it was quickly changed into silence with a simple action.

“No fighting.” Yukiho turned around, giving the girls a scary glare.

“S-Sorry.” “My apologies.” The two elder sisters lowered their heads and gave each other a glare.

 

They continued walking like this until they reached the end of the path. Even though they didn’t go to the main building of the Imperial Palace, the structure standing before them was still outstanding. Despite the place only being two floors high, it was a very large structure that spread across the garden. 

At first glance, it gave off the vibe of a small temple, but once inside, it was entirely different. The place was very fancy, with a golden silk carpet covering the floor and many different paintings of beautiful landscapes hanging on the walls.

Standing before such a place, Seira couldn’t help but wonder if it was alright for her to step inside here at all. 

Walking towards the end of the corridor, they reached a big room with a table in the center. The room had a large window that gave them a beautiful look of the pond outside and many empty seats spread around it. 

“T-This place is…” “µ’s meeting room!!”

Dia finished Chika’s sentence as both remained astonished. They pinched each other’s cheeks as if to confirm they weren’t dreaming. 

Following Alisa’s instructions, they sat down on the fancy golden chair. The moment they did, it felt as though their bodies were relaxing and healing. But this wasn’t because of how comfortable they were, in fact, these had been built while using properties of actual healing magic, making their wounds go away and revitalizing them.

“Let me properly introduce myself.” The girl with short auburn hair stood at the front of the table. “My name is Yukiho Kosaka and this is Alisa Ayase.”

“…” 

Chika and Dia looked at each other with eyes opened wide and then stared at the girls before them.

“K-Kosaka…?” “Ayase?!”

“Is something wrong?” Alisa tilted her head.

“N-N-N-No!” Dia fidgeted with her fingers as sweat poured down her forehead. “N-Nothing is wrong at all!!”

“Yes there is!!” Chika on the other hand, slammed her hands on the table. “T-Those last names! They are the same as Honoka and Eli’s!!” 

“Huh?” Yukiho couldn’t understand what she said at all. “Those names do ring a bell but…”

“But?!”

“They do but…”

“But?!?!”

“Sorry, even if you ask me I don’t really know who you are talking about.” Yukiho scratched her face embarrassed. “Alisa, do you know anything?”

“Nope!”

“Aw…” Chika plopped back down into her seat.

“Still, since when was Mari acquaintances with the commanders of the imperial guard?”

“Acquaintances is putting is lightly, isn’t it?” Yukiho pondered out loud.

“Huh?”

“We basically raised her!” Alisa dropped heavy information without any warning.

“W-W-Wha-!? Mari…” Dia gritted her teeth. “What is this about being raised by these people?”

“Oops.”

“Bzzzt, that’s wrong!! I’m not going to take an “oops” for an answer!! How did you even meet them?!”

“Hm? We found her.” Yukiho shrugged. 

“Let’s see…” Alisa looked up while trying to remember.

☆

It happened a few years ago but it was still fresh in their memory. At the time, while on their early teens Yukiho and Alisa were traveling together. They still weren’t members of the imperial guard. In fact, they weren’t even anywhere near Tokyo.

On that day, they had taken a boat on the coast of Italy. Traveling like this was somewhat new to them, so they were still a little nervous about doing something like this. 

“A-Are you sure this is okay?” Alisa asked as she held a bag with luggage. 

“It’ll be fine!” Yukiho gave her a small push forward. “It’s not like they _know_ that you come from a family of pirates.”

“Uuu…”

“D-Don’t worry about it! Even if you do, that doesn’t matter! It’ll be fine!!”

In the end, despite their worries, both were able to board the ship safely. It was a large ship, almost luxurious and the captain was known as a legendary captain that always took good care of his crew. There were even rumors that he would go treasure hunting on his free time, but what stood out the most about those rumors, is that he would always bring his young daughter along despite going to very dangerous places.

The boat was big enough for them to get lost, but they were finally able to locate their room after a few hours.

“Ugh, this place is like a maze, I hate this.” Yukiho placed her luggage on the floor and reached for the key.

“Really? I thought it was kind of fun.” Alisa smiled.

The long haired blonde reached for the handle of the door before Yukiho could unlock it with the key. However, the door still opened.

“Eh?” Yukiho stared at the door confused. “This is… our room, isn’t it?”

“Let me see.” Alisa held Yukiho’s hand, turning it around so she could see the number on the key. “It seems to be.”

They were both being overly cautious about someone breaking inside given how it was already unlocked. It seemed like most of the passengers weren’t in their bedrooms at the moment and were taking part of a party on deck upstairs so the place felt unusually silent. 

The two continued to step closer, walking inside the room, but there weren’t any signs of anyone being inside.

Giving a sigh of relief, Yukiho grabbed the luggage and entered the room, plopping straight into a large twin bed on a corner.

“What about the party?”

“I’m exhausted.” She complained, burying her face on the pillow.

“I heard there would be free food!”

“LET’S GO!!”

“E-Eeep!!” A faint voice startled both of them. 

(“W-What was that?!”) Yukiho whispered in distress as she jumped out of the bed.

(“Do you think it’s the ghost of the ship?”)

(“T-There’s no ghost here!!”)

Yukiho kneeled down to look under the bed, nothing. That only gave her one other option where something could have been hiding: the closet. Somehow, checking there felt a lot more nerve wracking. Even though common sense told her that there was no way something creepy was inside there, the possibilities were still way too scary for her.

(“Are you going to check there?”) Alisa tilted her head.

(“G-Go ahead!”)

Alisa didn’t have any problems with checking. Finding new or unusual things was exciting to her. If anything, she happily rushed towards the closet. With her legs slightly trembling, Yukiho hid behind Alisa’s back as she opened the door.

But there wasn’t any ghost, monster or demon inside. Instead, what they found was a little girl with short blonde hair tied into a loop and teary eyes. 

The little girl stared at them in silence but her expression looked like she was about to start crying any moment now.

☆

“And, I guess that’s about it.” Alisa nodded. “So then we took care of her!”

“Wait!!” Dia stood up. “That’s it!? What happened after that?!”

“Mari…” Kanan looked at the blonde girl. “What were you doing there…?”

But Mari simply shrugged with a smug expression in her face.

“A lot happened but…” Yukiho stood behind Mari and pulled on her cheeks with a lot of force. “One day this idiot left without any warning!”

“B-But I wrote _letters_ at least!!”

“Yeah? Like a year later!!”

“Ow, ow!! Fine, fine!! I’m sorry!!”

“Mari…” Dia and Kanan both placed a hand on her shoulder. “We are going to have a _long_ talk after this.”

“Now let me guess...” Yukiho looked at the girls and then pointed at Dia. “You are Dia Kurosawa, the Birthstone Alchemist!”

“Y-You’ve heard about me?!”

“Of course I have.” Yukiho nodded and then pointed at Chika. “And you must be her younger sister, Ruby!”

“Eh?”

“Oh!” Alisa then turned her sight towards Kanan. “And this is little Hanamaru, isn’t it?”

“Ha-Hanamaru…?” Kanan didn’t even know where to start correcting her.

“I see, I see.” Yukiho crossed her arms while looking at Mari. “So these are the members of The Liberation that you’ve gathered!”

“WRONG!” Even though no one knew how to proceed in order to correct them, Mari’s response was blunt and to the point.

“W-What do you mean wrong?!”

“Um… I’m not Hanamaru, I’m Kanan.”

“And I’m Chika!!”

“…” 

“Oh!” Alisa was quick to reach a conclusion. “In other words you fired the other members already and got new ones!!”

“WRONG!!”

“You are telling me you made me bring strangers into the imperial grounds…”

“That’s okay!!” Mari shrugged. “They are good girls!!”

“I see, in that case.” Yukiho cracked her fingers while giving them a malicious grin. “You better give me an explanation, immediately.”

Despite her menacing tone being directed towards Mari alone, everyone (except for Mari herself) felt intimidated by her pressure. 

And so, they explained the current situation to Yukiho. They told her about having met the princess, about what happened in Uchiura and their adventure while making their way to Tokyo.

“So you are telling me the princess was with you?!”

Mari simply gave a nod to answer Yukiho’s question.

“And you left her behind so we don’t even know her current location…”

Mari nodded again, this time slower.

“It’s okay!” Chika cut in. “You and the others are with her so it will be okay!”

“I hope that’s the case…”

At that moment, there was knocking on the door leading to the meeting room. Alisa quickly opened it without hesitation and a young girl walked inside. At first glance, both Dia and Seira were quickly reminded of their younger sisters the moment they saw her. Even though she didn’t resemble them that much, she also had her brown hair tied up in pigtails. 

Looking at her, she was wearing what looked like a red and black uniform with the sheathe of a sword around her waist.

“What is it Haruka?” Alisa could tell she had a concerned expression. 

“I-I have a report from Coco!” The young girl tried to catch her breath before speaking again. “The noises of great explosions could be heard from the Tokyo Station a few minutes ago!!”

“Is it A-RISE?” Yukiho brought a hand to her chin. “No, why would they attack the station. It’s close enough that they could have come here instead.”

“Do you think it’s a trap to lure us out of here then?” Despite her carefree demeanor, Alisa liked to think of all the possible scenarios before jumping into danger. 

“I wouldn’t rule it out.” Yukiho sighed. “I don’t think it would be a good idea for us to go just like that.”

“What if we go check?” Dia suggested. “It… might not be possible, but what if it’s Ruby and the others in there?”

“I’ll go too!” Chika stood up. “If it’s You and the others then-!”

“Permission denied.” Yukiho was blunt with her orders. “You are to stay where you are.”

“Haruka.” Alisa smiled at the girl to try and reassure her. “Tell everyone to stay on standby. Be wary for any suspicious activity but don’t approach the station unless it’s absolutely necessary.”

“Understood!” Haruka replied with a salute. She couldn’t help but to stare curiously at the girls inside the room before rushing outside.

☆

“What do we do now?!” Yohane asked as she ran at full speed. “If we keep running like this she might catch up to us in no time!!”

“I know!!” You replied. “But where do we even go?!”

“We have one option.” Riko spoke. She hated the idea she was about to tell them, but this wasn’t the time to hesitate. “The Imperial Palace is right around this area, we might be able to hide there!”

“The palace?” You pondered. But why did Riko know where it was…? No, it wasn’t the time to think about that. “Alright, let’s go!”

But even though they were only a few steps away from reaching the entrance to the imperial grounds, a figure stood in the middle of the street just outside. 

“Chika?!” Both You and Riko yelled in surprise at the same time. 

As the light of the moon covered the girl with short orange hair, a malicious smile spread across her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can finally point out that from now on, it's possible for some School Idol Festival N girls to appear in the story, however I may not tag them all because I feel like it would over-saturate the character tags. I hope you look forward to seeing more about them!
> 
> And also, remember that the first side-story: [The Sound of Rain at Summer's End](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13839993) is now up! I'll appreciate it if you check it out!


	37. Hand in Hand - Part 2

You and Riko couldn’t believe what they were seeing. A girl with short orange hair and pink eyes was standing just before them. Even in the situation they were in, relief washed down their bodies.

“Chika?!” The two gave a step forward before running towards her.

“You! Riko!!” She replied with the cheerful and bright tone that they knew so well. “I finally found you!!”

Without questioning it, the two jumped towards the girl, giving her a warm embrace. The braided girl remained still for a moment before hugging back the two girls. As she did, her lips curled into an unnatural smile.

“What is the little demon doing here?!” 

Yohane was just as surprised. Ruby and Ria who were helping a tired Hanamaru stand looked at the scene in silence. The moment their eyes met with the braided girl they felt as though they reached for a small glint of hope. If Chika was okay then, their sisters and everyone else were okay as well, right? 

There were many questions in everyone’s minds, but they still weren’t in a situation where they could take their time to find the answers. 

The sounds of running steps approaching them closer and closer became louder. The moment they heard this, everyone’s bodies tensed up and jumped up startled. Was it too late? Did Anju manage to catch up with them?

But as the steps became louder two figures came into their sight. From taking a first glance at them, despite the fact that they were wearing a uniform it didn’t seem like they were associated with A-RISE at all. 

They were both wearing what looked like a red and black uniform with a sheathed sword around their waist. One was a short girl with violet colored hair tied into long twin-tails that fell all the way down her waist. The other one was tall and had a slim figure, she had long purple hair that fell down her back and over her chest. 

Despite the two running at full speed in their direction, it seemed like they had not realized Riko’s group was there until they were close enough.

“Hawawawa!” The short twin-tail girl came to a sudden stop. “Yuri! That is-!”

“It’s the princess, isn’t it?”

“Haruka never said anything about this!!”

“Calm down Coco. This is good news, isn’t it?”

As soon as the two girls started to approach them, Riko was fast to hide behind the braided girl and the captain. 

“What is it?” 

You whispered at Riko. She didn’t understand the situation but glared at the approaching girls, ready to take action if necessary. 

“They are imperial guards.” The one to give the response was Ria who could recognize the uniforms right away.

“Isn’t that good then?!” Yohane looked at Riko, unable to understand why she felt so uncomfortable.

“I know but…” Riko looked down at the ground and then shook her head. “No, you are right. We don’t have time.”

Having said this, Riko took a step forward to face the girls. 

The moment the two girls were facing the red wine haired princess, the two kneeled down, lowering their heads as a sign of respect.

“D-D-D-Don’t do that!!” Riko panicked at the sudden gesture. “I already told you I don’t like it.”

Everyone stared at the scene before them in awe. Even though they were well aware that they had been traveling with a princess all along, seeing none other than imperial guards acknowledge it was shocking. For just a moment it felt like she was so far away and out of their reach.

“Your Highness.” Coco spoke as she raised her head. “What are you doing here?”

“Don’t call me that!!” 

“Ah, I know that feeling.” Yohane gave Riko a pat on the shoulder followed by a solemn nod.

“Yeah, Yeah. I’d love to stay and chat but this isn’t the time for this.” Yuri, the second imperial guard stepped forward. “We have orders to return to the imperial grounds immediately.” 

“I will return with one condition.” Riko frowned. She didn’t like using her authority to impose herself on others but this time she had no choice. “Let my friends into the imperial grounds as well.”

Coco looked at Yuri with a panicking expression, she didn’t like having to take decisions as big as these but Yuri simply replied with a shrug.

The group then followed the imperial guards who were now leading the way. They were aware they were supposed to be close to the imperial grounds, but they had been much closer than they had anticipated. After walking about a minute, the two guards turned around, facing a tall building that blended in with the background of the city. However, instead of entering the building, they simply walked through the walls. 

“Wha-?!” “Zura?!” “Pigii!!”

Yohane, Hanamaru and Ruby all stared at the empty wall before them in shock.

Riko remained silent as her eyes locked on the structure before her. She couldn’t believe that it had come to this, but the fact that she was standing right here and right now was reality. No matter how much she had tried to run from her situation, she had failed to escape. But now things were different. She wasn’t the same insecure girl that had chosen to run away and wash her hands from everything, she had met people who were dear to her, she had made bonds and connections she wanted to protect. That’s why even if it came to this, she wouldn’t run away.

Taking a deep breath, the princess steeled herself and finally spoke. 

“Let’s go.”

With this, she move onward, passing through the building the same way the guards did just now. Looking at how serious Riko was being, the others didn’t hesitate anymore. They didn’t understand the logic behind this place or where this would take them but they would follow her no matter what. With this, they gave a step forward as well.

The scenery before them changed in a heartbeat. Instead of the empty streets and tall buildings surrounding them, they were now standing at the edge of an immense garden. They were welcomed by a beautiful view as the light of the moon illuminated the colorful greenery around them. The environment itself felt a lot cooler just by standing here and a fresh breeze caressed their bodies. They had entered the imperial grounds. 

The guards were quick to run deeper into the garden, regrouping with a third member, a girl with brown hair tied up in pigtails. However, aside from the guards, there was someone else waiting for them as soon as they entered the garden: the second imperial commander, Alisa, was standing before them.

“Welcome home!” She greeted Riko with a smile.

“I’m back.” Riko sighed.

“Hm?” Alisa brought a finger to her chin as her eyes scanned Riko’s group. She stopped the moment she noticed the orange braided girl and pointed at her. “So that’s where you were!”

“Ehehe.” She scratched her cheek embarrassed. 

“Chika, do you know this person?!” You realized she still needed a lot of answers. 

“I do!” 

“Chika…” The one who spoke this time was Ruby. “D-Do you know where sis is?”

“That’s right zura, what about Dia, Mari and Kanan?”

“…?”

“Are you Ria by any chance?” Alisa interrupted them while looking at the red pigtail girl.

“Pigi!! N-No I’m!”

“Oh, and this is Ruby!!” Alisa clapped her hands together in delight as she approached the purple pigtail girl.

“Um… no, I am-”

“How about we go inside? Your sisters will be glad to see you!”

“T-They are here?!” Both Ruby and Ria could feel their heart skip a beat.

☆

After giving out her orders to stay in place, Yukiho left the meeting room, locking the door behind her.

“So I guess we are stuck here for now.” Kanan sighed, sulking down into the healing chair. “Dia? Are you okay?”

“I am perfectly fine!!” 

Dia responded with an impatient tone that contradicted her words. She had an annoyed expression in her face and continued to tap her foot against the floor. 

“Calm down.” Mari gave her a pat in the back. “I’m sure Ruby and the others are just _fine._ ”

“I am fine!!” Dia crossed her arms and looked away. “Hmph. You should not be the one to speak!! Keeping these things secret for us is the worst!! Right, Chika?”

But there was no one to give Dia a response.

“Chika…?”

“Hm?” Mari looked around and pointed at the opened window. “If you are looking for Chika she and Seira already escaped.”

“What did you say?!” Dia grasped Mari’s jacket and began to shake her. “How could you let them escape?!”

“Calm down Dia!!” Kanan held the girl’s waist and tried pulling her away.

As the room became filled with the noise of the girls arguing, the door suddenly opened. The three girls froze in the spot as they came face to face with the group that entered the room.

“See? Told you they would be just fine.” Yohane shrugged. 

“S-Sis!!”  


“RUBY?!”

Before Dia could even react, Ruby rushed into the room and jumped into her arms. 

“Sis!! I was so worried!!” Tears began rolling down Ruby’s eyes as her grip on Dia strengthened. “I’m so glad you are okay!”

“Ruby…” Dia caressed the girl’s back. “It’s alright now.”

You let out a sigh of relief the moment she stepped into the room and was able to confirm that everyone was okay. Up until now negative thoughts and bad feelings lingered deep inside her, a little part of her was starting to grow more and more worried that she would never get to see her friends again. She still didn’t understand the situation or how did things turn out like this but it took a big weight off her shoulders. 

Feeling completely devoid of energy, the young captain sat down and let her head lie down on the cold table.

“Are you alright?” The one to approach her was Kanan who gave her a pat on the back. 

Even though it was such a simple thing, You was glad to experience such a familiar feeling once more. It had been the same for as long as she had memory, Kanan had always been there to look out for her. Whenever she had trouble with something or felt like giving up, the blue ponytail girl would approach her and give her a pat on her back. She knew the sensation of that hand extremely well, thanks to that simple gesture she felt like could cry but her body was too exhausted for even that. 

“That should be my question!” You looked at Kanan with a smile. “Are _you_ alright?”

“O-Of course I am!!” Kanan crossed her arms. She was caught off guard for just a moment. Was it her imagination or had You become a little bolder? “A lot happened, but I’m doing great!!”

“Finally… some rest, zura.” Hanamaru plopped down into one of the healing chairs. She felt so relaxed she felt like she could fall asleep almost instantly.

“Are you going to tell us what happened?” Yohane looked at Chika.

“Hm?”

“I’m very curious as well.” Riko joined in. “I’m glad to see everyone is doing well but how did you end up here?”

“A-Ahhh, I’m so tired!!” The braided girl sat down, changing the conversation. “So much happened, I’m so hungry!! I want some bread!”

“I want some food too, zura!” Hanamaru murmured while half asleep.

Looking at this, Riko and You looked at each other. They didn’t need any words to figure out what the other was thinking.

Everyone had finally reunited but not all the people present were content with this outcome. Ria couldn’t help but to stand there in silence, staring at the warm scene before her. Ruby had found her sister in the end and everyone seemed to be doing just fine. Even though Alisa had mentioned their “sisters” were waiting for them, there was no trace of Seira at all inside this room. She wanted to think that she was just being paranoid but every passing second felt as though it lasted forever. Was Seira really here? Was Seira really okay? It’s not that she was angry that everyone was so happy, it’s just that now they wouldn’t have a reason to stick around with her and help her find her sister. 

She was afraid to say anything, she was afraid to ask, but she continued to grow increasingly anxious. She didn’t want to get everyone’s attention; she didn’t want to interrupt their happy moment but…

“Where…” Ria raised her voice. She could feel her body shuddering, speaking out loud before so many people was nerve-wracking even if she already knew some of them, but she had to do it. “is my sister…? Where is Seira?”

“Oh?” Mari tilted her head. “Didn’t she just escape with Chika—WAIT! Chika?!”

“You!!” Dia pointed at the orange braided girl. “How dare you escape just like that!! Where did Seira go?!”

“Seira…?” The orange braided girl felt everyone’s stares on her. She had to be very careful with the words she used. “Oh! S-She’s just around! Yeah, around!! I’ll go bring her back!!” 

Having said this, she stood up and stormed out of the room. Alisa couldn’t help but to stare suspiciously at the back of the girl who dashed towards the garden at full speed, but she decided not to take any action. Instead, she looked at all the girls that were now gathered inside the room. 

“And there you have it!” She clapped her hands together and then put her hands on her hips. “Alright! Everyone must be tired. How about we head over to the dining room for some dinner first?”

“Don’t worry.” Dia gave Ria a reassuring nod. She got the gist of the situation after talking to Ruby. Even if Saint Snow had been their enemies, it didn’t feel right to ignore her feelings. “Seira was here with us just now, she and Chika were just messing around so I’m sure they’ll be back!”

“O-Okay…” Ria rapidly stepped back, hiding behind Ruby. She wasn’t used to receiving kindness from anyone else so she didn’t know how to react at all.

☆

“Wait!!” Seira ran after the orange haired girl. “Do you ever run out of energy?!”

“But we have to check the station!!”

Seira sighed. Even though she could see all the positive sides of Chika’s high spirits, this time she felt more annoyed than impressed. 

“No, we don’t.”

“?”

“The chance of that being your friends and my sister is incredibly slim.” She crossed her arms and glared at Chika. “Listen, I want to go there and save my sister more than anyone if that was the case but acting on impulse isn’t always the answer.”

“But-”

“Let’s say we go to the station, then what? My magic is sealed and you can’t control your power. If anything, we’ll just become a burden and they will have to end up protecting us.”

“That’s true… but…”

“I… don’t feel like this is my place to say this but…” Seira scratched her head and looked into Chika’s eyes. “Don’t you believe in your friends?”

“Eh? Of course I-”

“There is nothing wrong with wanting to save them, but you can’t treat them like damsels in distress either. If they were able to make it as far as to get to the station on their own that means they aren’t pushovers. Thinking your friends won’t be able to handle the situation and thinking that you will be capable to jump in and save them is arrogant.”

“…” 

Chika remained silent. She looked down at the ground while pouting and fiddling with her fingers. Up until now whether it was Kanan, You, Riko or anyone else, they would easily go along with her. It was the first time she was ever scolded this way, and she didn’t have any words to deny it. Even though it was true that Chika had saved them from critical situations by putting her life on the line, there was no guarantee that it would be the same every single time.

“I’m… not telling you that wanting to save them is bad.” Seira spoke again. “I admire your will to stand up to adversity, but there are also times where the best you can do is to wait.”

“You are right.” Chika sat down on the cold grass of the imperial garden. “It’s just that when I think about them getting hurt, I can’t stop myself from wanting to do something about it but… they are very capable on their own. I know that, I know they are strong, way stronger than me.”

“I understand how you feel.” Seira sighed, sitting on the ground just next to her. “Even though I always want to keep Ria safe, when it comes down to it, she’s always been stronger than me. I am prone to let bad situations cloud my judgment and that has caused us to get into many fights before. If she was here, she would be absolutely fuming about the idea of me going there to save her.”

“Hehe, you are a lot nicer than you seem you know.” Chika lied down and the shining stars reflected on her eyes.

“Caring about your sister is just a given, isn’t it? It’s nothing special.” 

Seira lied down as well. It was a strange sensation. For the first time she felt like she was allowed to express herself. Even though she was really close with her sister, she liked to put up a strong front and always kept everything inside. She didn’t know much about Chika, her intentions or motives, but in the short time she had been able to spend time with her, it felt like she was someone she could talk to. 

“Really? I was the younger sister, but I was always giving my sisters a lot of trouble.” 

“Sisters?” 

Seira covered her mouth as soon as she asked. Even though she didn’t know the full details of Chika’s background, she knew that the town of Uchiura had been the core center for the Aquarium Project. Even with the limited data she had on the project, she knew the fate of her family hadn’t been anything pleasant.

And even though Chika didn’t respond with words, the look in her eyes was enough to tell Seira all she needed to know.

“A-Anyway.” The purple side-tail girl sat down while trying to change the topic. “Does this place have an exit in the first place? We walked around for a while but it feels like we are going in circles.”

“Hmm…” Chika stopped for a moment to think but her stomach let out a growling noise. “I’m hungryyy.”

“Now that you mention it…” Seira placed her hands over her stomach. “We haven’t had anything the whole day.”

“I know!!” Chika jumped up, looking at Seira with a grin. “I have an idea!”

“I don’t like the sound of this…” 

 

(“Hey, isn’t this stealing?”) Seira whispered. 

(“Isn’t this the princess’ house? We are just borrowing Riko’s food!”) Chika replied with a carefree tone.

(“Then we are just stealing food from the princess, that’s worse!!”)

The two walked across a short corridor while holding plates filled with different food they had found while in the kitchen. Most of it was just bread, but they were so hungry than that was enough for them. However, as they walked into the next room, the lights suddenly turned on. 

The room where they were standing now looked like a dining room. Unlike what you’d expect for the royal grounds, the size of this room was just average. Probably because this wasn’t the royal palace and it was still inside the same building as the meeting room. However, the moment the lights turned on, both came to a sudden stop. 

Riko’s group stood on the other side of the room while staring at them with shocked expressions. 

“Chika!!” Dia was the first one to react. “What do you think you are doing?!”

“I was hungry!!”

“S-Sister?!” 

“Ria?!”

“T-To think sister has become a thief… but it’s okay, I won’t abandon you even if you go to jail.”

“I’m not a thief!! This was all Chika’s-!!”

“You!! Riko!! Everyone!!!!” Chika handed over her large plate full of bread to Seira who was barely able to catch it in midair before running towards the girls. “You are here!!!”

The orange haired girl jumped up and down cheerfully while holding their hands. 

“D-Didn’t you see us here earlier?” You stared at her in disbelief.

“Huh? I did?”

“What’s wrong with my little demon?” Yohane stared closely into Chika’s eyes. “You have been acting weird!!”

“Oh my! So she’s POSSESED!!” Mari suggested.

“Of course not!!” Kanan was quick to deny such a ridiculous statement. “She’s probably just tired.”

“Do you want me to try out some exorcising techniques?” Alisa suggested with a smile in her face.

“Y-You are not doing anything like that!!” Yohane jumped up, pulling Chika towards her.

“Uuu…” Chika pouted. “I want food!!”

 

While everyone’s attention was on Chika, Ria walked towards her sister, helping her put away the food into a long silver dining table.

“Ria.” She looked into the girl’s eyes. “A lot happened, didn’t it?”

“It did, but…” Ria clenched her fists to hold back her tears. “Everything is alright now!!”

“It is.” Seira gave her a pat on the head. “I’m glad to have a reliable little sister!”

“T-That’s not true!” Ria looked away. 

Neither of them had been good at expressing themselves or talking too much but that was okay. They had formed a bond that didn’t need any words and this alone was enough for Ria’s heart to warm up.

☆

The luxurious banquet that they received only helped reinforce that this was indeed the kind of food that you would find at the imperial grounds. There was a wide assortment of dishes of all kinds. Riko hated to admit it but she missed having a meal like this after so long.

Despite there being so much food by the time they were done, there was nothing left at all. 

“I’m in heaven, zuraaaa.”

“Finally, something worth of this fallen angel.”

“Ali.” Mari spoke while looking at Alisa. “Where is Yuki?” 

Before Mari asked that question no one had really realized that Yukiho had been missing, but being a commander of the imperial guards she might have been busier than it looked like. Alisa didn’t really have a clear answer to give her and simply replied with a shrug.

“I’m sure you have a lot of questions but I want to prioritize giving you a place to rest for now. We can clear up everything and talk about our next step tomorrow.”

No one could complain about that. The day had been extremely long and exhausting for everyone. They had woken up at an old hotel in the city of Hakone just this morning, thinking about everything that took place in just a day felt crazy, it was a miracle that they were still able to stand or speak. 

“Um…” Riko approached Alisa, pulling on her sleeve to get her attention. 

“Hm?”

“Can I… get a guest room as well?”

“Hm, there is actually something I need to talk about with you, princess. Can you stay here for a moment?”

“…?”

“Alright!” Alisa spoke at everyone with a cheerful tone. “Coco and Yuri will show you the way to your dorms for the night, so can you please follow them?”

The group promptly followed the imperial guards out of the dining room and towards the dorms, only Riko remained inside the room along with Alisa.

☆

“Why am I the only one that gets to be alone?!” Chika complained after being shown the way to her dorm.

“Shouldn’t you be glad you get a room for yourself?” Yohane crossed her arms as Mari opened the door to the room next door.

“I know but it’s no fun!!”

“DON’T WORRY!” Mari winked at her. “We’ll be right here next door!!” 

Saying good night to Chika, the two girls walked into the rooms exhausted. 

Chika let out a sigh as she stood by the end of the hall. Everyone else had already been taken to different rooms across the building so everything felt silent and lonely. With no choice, she started walking towards her room which was by the end of the corridor. 

She began to use her key to unlock the door, but then, just as the lock made a clicking sound, someone dragged Chika away. She was not given the chance to retaliate or scream as her mouth was covered by a hand and her limbs were restrained as her body was dragged into the darkness of the corridor.

 

Not too long after this, Riko walked into her room with a sad expression in her face. The room was five times bigger than the size of the dining room and everything inside was incredibly fancy. It was decorated with a piano in the corner and many different golden ornaments. In the center of the room, there was a giant and extremely comfortable looking bed covered by a pink veil. 

She let her exhausted body fall into the bed and closed her eyes. Without bothering to check on anything else or change into her pajamas, she simply hugged her pillow, falling asleep in a heartbeat.

The silence of the night had fallen over the imperial grounds as everyone finally got a chance to rest. But even so, there was still movement deep inside the Imperial Palace. 

The faint sound of footsteps could be heard in the middle of the night. The steps were quick to approach the door leading to the princess’ room and her door was slowly opened. 

A girl with orange braids smiled as she held the hilt of a sharp knife on her hand. She slowly and carefully approached the sleeping princess, and without waiting a single second, she swung the knife towards her with a lot of force.

Followed by a strange sound, a loud scream resounded across the silent night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the delay!
> 
> I want to give a shout-out to Traviera who just marathoned all the chapters so far, I really appreciate your comment and I hope you keep enjoying the story! As well as one for Ritao who has given me feedback on twitter before, is really supportive and posted their first comment! 
> 
> Even if you've been around for a while and never commented or if you just caught up all the way here, I really really appreciate your support and I'm glad to know that you are taking your time to read my story!
> 
> I'm grateful to everyone that regularly comments as well, I've seen you interacting with each other in the comments sometimes and I find it amusing!


	38. Hand in Hand - Part 3

A loud scream of pain spread from within the lonely room in the center of the Imperial Palace. Seconds later, the silence of the night enveloped everything once again.

As a large knife fell into the cold floor the sound of steel hitting the ground echoed. The clean, radiant carpet had been tainted with dark red blood. 

“W…Why?” A faint voice groaned. 

It had all happened within seconds. 

Before the knife could make direct contact with the princess, the braided girl had been sent crashing into the wall. She was unable to see anything before it happened, she didn’t even notice the wound that had been opened on her shoulder as a knife was stabbed into her. It was only until the knife fell into the floor that the pain caught up with her. 

Overtaken by pain, her magic faded away and little sparks of light descended down her feet. A second braid appeared on the other side of her short orange hair. The color of her eyes shifted from a bright pink to a matching orange and the shape of her face had become entirely different.

“Do you think you are in a position to ask for answers?” The voice of the red-wine haired princess reached her. “You attempted to murder the princess; I hope you realize your life is as good as over.”

“?!”

Sparkles of light descended from the princess’ figure. The twin-braided girl felt a chill running down her spine the moment she stared at the person now standing before her: the commander of the imperial guards.

Yukiho dusted off her hands, taking a step forward without caring about the expression of shock that the intruder before her showed. 

“How did you?!”

“Why are you surprised? This is your magic, isn’t it? All I did was to borrow it.”

“Borrow…?”

“Alright then.” Yukiho grinned as she cracked her fingers. “How about you tell me everything?”

And so, another scream resounded across the night once again.

☆

Not too long before this took place, Chika struggled while trying to break free. She had been grabbed from behind and pulled into a corridor. No matter how much she tried to scream, she couldn’t let her voice out thanks to a hand pressing against her mouth.

“Chika! Calm down!!”

Her eyes opened wide the moment she heard a familiar voice just behind her. It was a voice she could recognize in a heartbeat. 

“It’s okay Chika, it’s us!”

A second voice left her in a state of shock.

The person who had her arm wrapped around her torso and who was covering her mouth was the young captain while the person who restrained her arms was the princess.

“You?! Riko?!” Chika raised her voice the moment the two let go of her.

“Shh!!” The two quickly signaled at her to stay quiet. 

The orange haired girl couldn’t understand a single thing but judging by the expression of the other two, there was something strange going on. They continued walking across the corridor while looking around and confirming their surroundings before they entered one of the guest rooms, locking the door behind them.

After entering the room, Chika sat on the bed while looking at the two girls who stared at her intently. You and Riko both moved closer and closer towards Chika’s face staring right into her eyes for a few seconds.

“W-What?”

That was all Chika could say. Without a doubt, a lot of things had happened since the last time she saw them but the current situation really threw her off.

“Listen.” You placed her hands on Chika’s shoulders. “There’s another Chika in the imperial grounds!” 

“But there’s only one of me here!!” 

“What You means is that there’s an impostor.” Riko clarified. “Tell me, where did you meet with us?”

“Huh?” Chika took a moment to think, her mind was already too busy trying to catch up with the situation. “At dinner time?”

“So you don’t remember seeing us outside in Tokyo?”

“Eh?”

“It’s just as Alisa said.” Riko brought a hand to her chin. “That was really an impostor after all.”

☆

“Hm, there is actually something I need to talk about with you, princess. Can you stay here for a moment?”

Alisa had stopped Riko from following the main group after everyone left towards their temporal dorms. At that moment the long haired girl felt very uncomfortable. Being at this location was already enough to get on her nerves, she wanted to run and get away from here as fast as she could, but she wasn’t in a situation where she could escape anymore. However, this time, she was left alone in this room with Alisa, a commander of the imperial guards. Being with someone so important was enough to make anyone nervous but this wasn’t the case for Riko. If anything it felt like having to face an elder sibling after running away from home, she wanted to avoid this at all costs. 

What did Alisa want to talk about? She was going to scold her for running away, wasn’t she? She was going to get yelled at, wasn’t she? She had no memories of ever seeing this person angry, just by looking at her it felt like she wasn’t the kind to get angry either, but Riko didn’t know for sure. Maybe the fact of not knowing made everything a lot more nerve-wracking. 

As everyone left the room, Riko felt her hands going cold. The anticipation of not knowing what would happen next was killing her. What if she got locked up in her room forever like those princesses from old books? What if she got kicked out as punishment from running away, or worse, handed over to A-RISE. 

Of course, there was no way anything like that would happen. For starters, even if they were commanders for the imperial guards, the authority of the princess was absolute. There was no reason or benefit for them to hand her over to the enemy either but Riko had a hard time remaining logical. Bad scenarios after bad scenarios continued running across her mind nonstop. 

Until…

“Are you feeling okay?” 

Alisa asked, her light blue eyes staring at Riko. Before she could realize it, Riko’s eyes were locked with hers. She didn’t understand why, but she simply couldn’t look away from her. Despite all her worries, one of the thoughts that clouded her mind at the moment was how pretty the royal commander’s eyes were. Eh? This wasn’t the time to get distracted like this. Realizing what she was doing, Riko felt so embarrassed. What was she thinking about? She needed to give an answer, that’s right. She just had to answer her question.

“I’m fine!!” Riko looked away. 

She was so self-conscious she even felt like she had raised her voice too much when she answered. It’s not that she was particularly annoyed either; her voice simply didn’t match her emotions. This was the worst. After all, here, she wasn’t allowed to be “Riko” right? She had to do a proper role as the “Princess” right? So then, what kind of princess loses her composure like this? It was the worst, the worst! Now she’ll come off as a weirdo, she just wanted to hide her face or crawl into a hole. 

On the other hand, Alisa didn’t really mind. As it was, Alisa was always the kind that couldn’t properly read the atmosphere. What was the princess thinking about right now? Unless people were to tell her things outright, there were high chances she was never able to guess what others were trying to say or what they were thinking. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she had the feeling that there was someone who would always point that out. It was a strange sensation she couldn’t shake away but if she were to really think about it, there was no one that came to mind. After all, Yukiho was already used to this and she never bothered to point it out before. Come to think of it, Yukiho was always strict with everyone but she was never too strict with her. Huh? Why? Oh, that’s right, she never did anything wrong that had to be the reason, totally. 

And just like this, Alisa’s train of thought continued getting farther and farther away, paying less and less attention to Riko’s nervous reactions.

(Is she mad at me?!) Riko could feel cold sweat rolling down her forehead. 

She was so lost in her thoughts to realize it, but Alisa had dozed off while still staring intently into Riko’s eyes.

“A-Anyway.” Riko took a deep breath. She had to go ahead and tackle this head on. At this point it was inevitable. “What did… you want to talk about?”

“Oh.” Alisa was suddenly snapped back into reality. “Oh yeah, what was it…?”

“…”

She was just messing around, wasn’t she? She was just doing it on purpose, wasn’t she? Riko couldn’t help but feel that Alisa was playing dumb in order to mess with her. Did she want Riko to say everything herself? To apologize for running away? Maybe this person was a lot scarier than what she looked like. 

“Oh yeah.” Alisa nodded. “Chika! Yukiho said we are going to eliminate her.”

“WHAT?!”

“Hm? Well, just one of them.”

“One… of them?”

“Yeah, because there are two Chikas, weren’t there?” 

“There…are?”

Even though Riko sounded confused, something inside her head clicked. Two Chikas, if she were to think about it this way a lot of things started making sense. Up till now, she had remained quiet because she didn’t have any base or evidence to say anything but it wasn’t difficult to tell that something had been wrong with Chika. She had tried to brush it off thinking that the orange haired girl was just tired but that was difficult to picture, she was always a ball of energy after all. 

“If you didn’t notice that’s kind of a problem.” Alisa brought a hand to her cheek. “Yukiho said that you would have surely realized it by now.”

“I… guess I did notice something off about her but…”

“Then that’s perfect! I’ll tell Yukiho we are ready to set the plan in motion!!”

“W-W-Wait!! What plan are we talking about exactly?!”

“The plan to eliminate the fake Chika!!”

“Eliminate…?”

That was the second time that the imperial commander had used that word. Riko knew it was a given that if an enemy infiltrated the Imperial Palace, they would be taken care of. Neither the person that stood before her right now nor Yukiho were people who would go easy on their opponents. Maybe because she understood how much pressure and responsibility the title of “Princess” had come with, she could understand that they were in a position where they were forced to take really heavy actions. 

She understood that but… even if it was the enemy, even if it was an impostor.

“Is that… necessary? Do you really have to eliminate her?”

“We don’t know for sure but I can talk to Yukiho, maybe I can convince her to hold back a little.”

The words that came from Alisa were surprisingly unexpected to Riko. She was certain that she would only receive a negative response but this person seemed willing enough to spare the life of an enemy.

However, was she doing this because she had a nice and caring nature or did she have no choice but to listen to the princess’ request? Thinking about this was frustrating for Riko. Whenever she was with Chika and the others, for the first time in a long time, she didn’t have to worry about people submitting to her for her status. That had been a much needed fresh air for her, for the first time ever her personal relationships with others didn’t feel fake, but now the dread of thinking people were submitting thanks to her status was coming back. 

“And to answer your original question.” Alisa added with a wink. “In fact, I need you to stay in a guest room tonight.” 

“?”

After that, all Alisa did was to relay the plan that Yukiho had come up with.

☆

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” The twin-braided girl begged as she gasped for air. “I’ll talk, I’ll talk!”

“It was about time.” Yukiho yawned. 

The auburn haired girl kneeled down, looking at the girl who lied down in the ground with her body full of injuries. They didn’t look like any kind of injury caused by magic; instead, her body was full of bruises caused by physical and direct impact. 

“My name is Kasane Hasekura.” The impostor finally revealed her identity. “I was sent by A-RISE with the order to infiltrate the Imperial Palace.”

“I know as much.” 

Kasane felt a chill run down her spine the moment she heard Yukiho’s low voice. The pressure created by the imperial guard was incredible. Just by looking into her eyes it was easy to tell that she wasn’t satisfied with her answer. Not only that but it looked like she wasn’t lying when she commented to already know that A-RISE had sent her. Even though she had not experienced the power of A-RISE beforehand, it wasn’t needed for her to know about their absolute, unstoppable force. And yet, it was as if this person had already seen through them. 

No, Yukiho had seen far beyond that.

“Let me guess.” Yukiho interrupted her. “Your job was to use your magic in order to infiltrate the imperial guards, you were supposed to take care of me, impersonate me and retrieve the Imperial Crown.”

“…?”

“Of course, that was the plan before the princess came into the picture. Who sent you? No, it had to be Erena. Tsubasa wasn’t in a state to give out orders and Erena could place Chika’s image into your mind. You were to take the form of someone close to the princess if you happened to come in contact with her so you went for plan B.”

“How did you-?!”

“Even so, I know retrieving the princess is a top priority but were you trying to kill her? Hah, were you trying to one up the members of A-RISE for your own gain? Too bad though.”

“What are you talking about?! How are you able to know all of this?! No one should have known!!” 

“Let me tell you one thing.” Yukiho crossed her arms. “You weren’t defeated by me, you were defeated by the bond those girls have created.”

“Their bond…?”

“My plan was simple. The only information our intel gathered was that of suspicious activity in the area. It’s not the first time someone tries to break into the imperial grounds so it was predictable. That was your first mistake. Surely enough, an intruder showed up, with the princess no less. However, you chose to imitate someone close to her, someone that was already here, that was your last mistake.”

Listening to Yukiho’s logic was terrifying. Even with this, it still didn’t explain how she knew so many details. Not only was Kasane in a spot where A-RISE could end her life for failing them, but there was no guarantee she would survive an encounter with someone like this either. 

The auburn haired commander on the other hand, looked relaxed and carefree despite the serious tone in her voice. She sat down in midair as she spoke and crossed her legs. It was as though she was sitting on an invisible chair. 

“Did you know?” Yukiho smirked. “I can’t generate magic on my own.”

“?!”

Can’t generate magic? Looking at the way she sat and relaxed in midair made that statement sound ridiculous. Did that mean she was able to do this without magic? This alone was just a small display of the true extent of her abilities. 

“However, I can duplicate any kind of magic. In that case, I can use every kind of magic. And of course, in order for me to do that, I can easily analyze any magic that activates close to me and understand it just as easily.”

To be able to use any kind of magic, that sounded like a terrifying ability. Not even the top members of A-RISE were able to control something like that. Deep inside, it felt like listening to this reminded her of something. Part of her told her this wasn’t the first time she heard about someone being able to use every kind of magic but Kasane couldn’t put her finger on it.

“So there you have it, the moment you entered my range I was able to decipher your magic. But I couldn’t end you in the spot. You got lucky at first, the person you decided to replicate is someone who I’m unable to read and it is someone I barely know so I hesitated about taking action. That’s why I left it up to them.”

☆

“Alisa confirmed to me that there was an impostor going around.” Riko explained. “So Yukiho’s plan was for us to hide you and keep you out of harm.”

“Hide me?”

“In other words, we had to choose who the real Chika was!” You smiled at her with a salute. 

“It wasn’t difficult but…” Riko looked down. “If we messed up Yukiho would have had to take care of you.”

“This is so annoying!!” Chika crossed her arms and pouted. “I’m going to sue that impostor!!”

“Ah, Kanan really rubbed off on her.”

Riko couldn’t help but to stare at both confused but she let out a sigh of relief. At the moment Alisa explained the plan to her, she grew even more nervous. It was true that it was easy for her to tell who the impostor was, but if the plan had failed it could have ended up with a terrible outcome. Knowing Yukiho, if both had protected the impostor instead, even if the real Chika didn’t show up at Riko’s room, she would have sent the imperial guards to finish her off. The commander wasn’t someone so naive.

☆

“And there you go.” Yukiho shrugged. “It’s over.”

In just a moment, not only had everything turned around for Kasane, but it felt like up till now she was playing right on Yukiho’s palm. Even after hearing the explanation, she couldn’t process how it came to this. She had come face to face with an opponent that was several steps ahead of everyone. In the end, it was exactly as Yukiho said, it was over.

☆

And so, the morning of a new day finally arrived.

“So sleepy, zura.” The long haired brunette yawned. “So hungry, zura.”

“Ugh, where are we supposed to go now?” Yohane complained. “I can’t believe Mari ditched me like that.”

“I don’t know, this place is so big, it’s like a country!!”

“A country!?”

“Yes, it’s the future zura!!”

“The future you say…” Yohane looked at the area around her in disbelief. Despite Hanamaru’s claim all that surrounded them was the nature of the imperial garden.

☆

Early in the morning, everyone was woken up by a sudden loud alarm. With everyone barely able to keep themselves together, they were guided towards the meeting room with the healing chairs.

“So sleepy.” Ruby complained, laying her head on top of the table at the center.

“Huh?” Ria titled her head. “I thought it was really late already.”

“Late?!” Chika and You couldn’t help but to complain at the same time. 

“I agree.” Seira crossed her arms. “We usually wake up at three in the morning to get some training.”

“WHAT?!” Mari shuddered at the thought. 

“Oh, I totally get it!!” Kanan nodded proudly to herself. “It’s such a nice time to train!”

“Of course.” Chika, You, Dia and Mari all spoke in sync.

Everyone continued to wait for a few minutes. Despite being so sleepy, the healing chairs in that room were fast to do their job and energize everyone. It didn’t take long until the door opened and the two commanders of the imperial guards entered the room. 

Alisa waved at everyone with a smile but Yukiho was busy holding what looked like a silver sphere made by a strange kind of crystal. The sphere radiated with a faint light deep inside it and almost reflected the image of the world itself. It stood on top of a golden base that sparkled with a light similar to the light of alchemy. The item stood up so much with its brilliance that everyone felt their gazes attracted towards it. 

Despite it shining so bright with a golden light, the Kurosawa sisters had absolutely no knowledge of what this item was. Looking at it gave everyone a similar vibe as looking at the Love Gems but there was something different about this, something mystical. 

The more everyone stared at it, the more their senses were slowly being thrown out of sync. It almost felt like it didn’t belong in this world. 

“It’s so SHINYYY!!!” Mari’s eyes sparkled as she moved closer and closer towards the strange object.

“What is this?” Dia was the first one to ask. She didn’t want to be imprudent but her curiosity got the best of her.

“This is Aether.” Yukiho gave them all a quick and simple explanation. “We will need this if we want a chance at restoring the world.”

Listening to her explanation felt almost unreal. While it was true than that item stood up beyond anything they had seen up till now, it was hard to believe that it held the power to restore the world. Did that mean that as long as they had such an item in their hands their quest was finally over? Did something like this really have that ability?

“Or at least.” Alisa added. “This will help us take our first step!”

“First step…?” Riko murmured under her breath.

“Or so it should. This is a powerful relic that has remained in the Imperial Palace for generations, but…” Yukiho scratched her head annoyed. “None of us have ever been able to activate it, not even the queen.”

Chika couldn’t take her eyes away from the object not even as she heard Yukiho’s explanation. She couldn’t understand what it was, but she could feel something drawing her towards it, calling for her. At the moment it felt like it was just her imagination but looking at this item made her think of µ's. It had the same kind of radiance as the one of the legendary heroes. But it didn’t make any sense. There had been no mention of such an item in the book. 

“So this is when you come in.” Yukiho slammed her arms against the table.

“Eh?” 

Chika jumped up startled the moment she realized the Auburn haired girl was staring intently at her. As a result, everyone in the room was staring at her as well. 

“As I learned from what you all told me, you possess a strange power that we don’t. If we are going to have a chance at activating this, then it sounds likely for it to be you.”

“Wait a moment.” Riko cut in. “What happens if she activates it?”

But Yukiho could only respond with a shrug.

“It has never been activated before, there is no way for us to know… but, we can’t let this chance go either.”

“I’ll do it!” Chika didn’t even have to think too much about it. If anything, the radiance of the ancient relic was calling out to her, drawing her closer and closer. “I’ll activate it.”

“Chika?” Riko looked at her with concern but she knew stopping her would be no use. 

“Please go ahead.” Yukiho crossed her arms and stared at the scene before her.

Taking a deep breath, Chika’s hand moved towards the ancient relic. The same hand that contained the power of Dark Matter within began moving towards a radiant item that had the power to restore the world. The seconds it took her to move her fingertips towards it felt like an eternity. Not knowing what would happen if such an item activated was keeping everyone on edge, there was no telling what the outcome would be. 

And so, the orange haired girl made contact with its radiance. 

But nothing happened.

“Eh?” 

She stared at it in disbelief. It wasn’t that Chika ever considered herself to be anyone special, in fact, it was the exact opposite. However, this time, she had been given a chance to stand out. A new possibility appeared before her, and yet, there was no result.

But then, Yukiho’s eyes opened wide. She let out a gasp and quickly turned around. The moment she did, the door to the meeting room opened. The auburn haired girl was sensible to any magic around her, she had the ability to comprehend and replicate other’s abilities. That’s why at the moment someone approached the room, they entered her range and she was able to register a power beyond her imagination. 

“We finally made it, zura!” “That girl working at the kitchen really looked like Chika but she wasn’t the little demon how curious…”

“Wh…” Yukiho’s voice trembled. “What are you…?”

“Heh, are you surprised you are finally meeting a fallen angel?” 

Yohane smirked at Yukiho who rapidly approached her, but then, she walked past her. 

Instead, Yukiho’s hands took the hands of the short brunette who stared at her nervously. 

“Zura?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! 
> 
> I wanted to use the Hand in Hand chapter to achieve several things. 
> 
> One was to finally reunite everyone, as well as to show how the bond between each other has grown, including the members of Saint Snow! 
> 
> It also gave us an introduction to the imperial grounds and let us see a glimpse of what Yukiho and Alisa can do. 
> 
> And lastly, I also introduced at least four N girls now. By giving the role of the impostor to Kasane, I wanted to show how much impact they can actually have. It was a little amusing as well since a lot of people confused Chika with her when sunshine was first revealed, and since her hobby is to cosplay I felt like transformation magic was really fitting!


	39. Prelude of Light - Part 1

At one point in time the concept of the “world” as we know it was not born yet. 

No, the concept of time itself was something that didn’t exist. 

And yet, two lights existed in the midst of nothing. 

Until one day, reflections of the sun and the moon descended into an endless, broken void. 

As the bridge between reality and beyond broke apart, the light of the radiant sun faded away, descending into the land. And as drops of water fell on a bed of flowers, the light of the moon soon faded away as well. 

_“Goodnight, everyone.”_

Colorful flowers that spread across the land, forming a perfect circle, all came to full bloom.

☆

“Ah, it’s morning again.”

A short, long haired brunette whispered her thoughts out loud without realizing it. Her body felt incredibly heavy and it hurt everywhere. After all, in the span of a day she had gone through one difficult experience after another one, her body wasn’t built for this kind of thing at all. Maybe it would be better to just stay in bed. She knew she would fall asleep right away if she tried to.

Was there something else that she was supposed to be doing? Come to think of it, what was she doing? Her life hadn’t been easy after joining The Liberation, that was for sure. But even then, it was nothing compared to this. She had been faced with near death experiences more times that she could count and she had been forced to use up a lot of stamina just to travel from one place to another. But in the end, what was she doing this for? 

Four answers immediately came to mind: for her best friend, for the fallen angel and for the pair who worked so hard to command The Liberation. That was more than enough. There was nothing wrong with doing things for the sake of others. As long as she could be of use to someone, that was enough to her. But… was that _really_ okay? Was there… something else that she wanted to do? Did she know what she wanted to do in the first place? 

A usual problem for people was to understand others properly. Even if you made a close bond with someone there was still a big chance for misunderstandings to happen. It wasn’t that she was great at understanding others either, it’s just that her problem was different. Hanamaru had trouble understanding herself the most. 

Even though she was well aware of this it wasn’t something she was comfortable thinking about. Usually, it’s a not a thought that would cross her mind at all, but…

(Ah! That’s no good.) 

“I can’t sleep like this, zura.” Hanamaru let out a faint sigh. 

She was certain that she would fall back asleep right away but her mind couldn’t stop forcing one thought after another after another after another into her head, all against her will. They were thoughts she wasn’t content with. It wasn’t pleasant to think too deep about things like these, about herself, about her life. Despite of how tired her body was, the feeling of dread was starting to make her feel awake. 

Not only was her body fragile but once she was awake…

“Ugh.” The brunette turned around, still clinging unto her blanket. “I’m hungry.” 

It wasn’t at the level of hunger any other regular person would have. She didn’t understand why, but her body had always been like this. On one hand it was convenient because she could restore her magic right away after eating, but on the other hand it could be inconvenient to always be hungry like this. Usually, she wouldn’t mind it as much but right now it was the worst possible timing, she just wanted to sleep. 

Left without a choice, the brunette slowly got up. A tear rolled down her face as she let out a yawn. Waking up after a long day was the worst. Everything was fuzzy and blurry; it didn’t feel like her body was reacting at all. 

The moment she stood up and stretched out her arms, she was assaulted by incredible pain spreading across her limbs. Her impulses were trying to push her down back into the bed but she decided to endure it, she didn’t have the confidence to get up again if she did. 

Putting away her pajamas, she began to put on the uniform of The Liberation that was folded on top of a shining drawer. It looked like it was made of wood but it was an expensive material no matter how you saw it, it couldn’t have been regular wood at all. 

It wasn’t the first time Hanamaru experienced this, but she was always taken back by how useful alchemy was for repairing clothes. It had taken the sisters less than a minute to clean and repair the uniform, making it look, feel and smell like it was brand new. After putting on the blue jacket and the long white gloves, Hanamaru knew a brand new day had come after all. 

There was something special to her about getting ready like this. Thinking back of the way she used to spend every morning before, there was no one to say good morning to her. There was nothing new to look forward to. But wearing this uniform reminded her of how different things were now. It made her feel like she had a purpose, like she belonged somewhere. 

In the end, that was her biggest drive. To do something for those people that had taken her away from her solitude. 

After examining the room, she could tell that Kanan, the other person who was assigned into this room as well, had already left. Even though she couldn’t recall, Kanan had woken up extremely early in order to go and train. It didn’t matter if her body was tired after everything she experienced; the ponytail girl was always ready to start a new day full of energy. Hanamaru felt like Kanan might have given her an offer to join her but she was too sleepy to pay attention or remember at all.

What time was it? Judging by the light outside her window it still seemed to be pretty early in the morning but she couldn’t tell for sure. Hopefully it wasn’t past breakfast time already. 

She walked out of the room with a sigh, locking the door behind her but then jumped in surprise. There was someone outside, to be more accurate, lying down outside. The fallen angel slept while lying down on the clear corridors just outside the bedrooms. Hanamaru thought she was really bad at getting up every morning but it looked like this person had it worst. 

Looking at her, something worried Hanamaru. Even though she seemed to be sleeping peacefully, ever since the incident with Riko, Hanamaru couldn’t sense the presence of the _”other Yohane.”_ After that, she didn’t notice Yohane trying to use her roulette magic again either. Did everyone truly make it back safely? It wasn’t something she could ignore. After all, she was the one that had summoned her only to place her in danger. 

But maybe for now, the best option was simply to wait. At this point, Hanamaru felt confident with her ability to be patient.

☆

A little girl looked out of her window. The clear skies, the cold breeze and the song of the birds that flew by let her know that another day had come.

Waking up again didn’t mean anything special in particular to her. It wasn’t something positive and it wasn’t something negative. It was another day, that was all there was to it. 

“Good morning.” 

She spoke out loud without directing her voice to anyone in particular. It was something she was used to doing everyday even though she knew there was no one to listen to her and no one that would reply back. 

There was a tiny exception. There was a little girl who had tried to sneak into her small cottage more than once now. At first it was a little annoying to have someone running around but she had started to take a liking to her. 

If she were to think about two reasons to look forward to each day, one was to meet that girl again. Even though she didn’t come by every single day, every time she did had become fun. 

The second reason was all the adventures that she could look forward to. Despite her house being a simple wooden cottage in the middle of vast greenery, the inside was something rather different than the environment which surrounded it. Towers of books spread all around the place. If one were to step inside there would probably be very little space to walk around thanks to so many books. 

Surprisingly enough however, all the books seemed to be perfectly organized by genre, author, among other parameters. Hanamaru didn’t know where did all these books come from, but it wasn’t something she ever bothered to question. She didn’t know how did she end up living here either, but it wasn’t something she questioned either. That was just how it was, and that was just how it had always been. 

To Hanamaru, these books were her world. Each one would take her on an adventure to unexplored lands she couldn’t even dream about. She could join the characters, learn more about them, their struggles, their worries, be there for their happy times and feel like she had taken part in that story herself. Every book was full of surprises that would let her feel a wide range of emotions. 

But even though these were her world, there was something she always dreaded: reaching the end of a story. There were many different reasons whys he disliked it. One was because she hated the void deep inside her chest that was left once she closed a book after its last page. An adventure had come to an end and the truth of her solitude enveloped her once again. The characters of said books which she even considered her friends were all gone just like that. And in the end, there was no one to listen to her thoughts. 

Having reached the end of a long story once again, a little Hanamaru sat down while staring blankly at the book in her hands. Her hands were growing cold and even though she could feel an urge to cry rushing towards her, she couldn’t bring herself to do it. She didn’t understand why but her lack of human contact had numbed down her heart. 

Before she could realize it, the sun had already gone down. Come to think of it, she had been so focused on reading her book that she had forgotten to eat. She didn’t realize it until her stomach let out a loud growl. 

Living in a place like this, it’s not like she had too many options. She had read on some of her books about hunters catching animals in order to survive in the wild but Hanamaru could never bring herself to hurt them, much less eat them. She had no choice but to survive thanks to fruits and vegetables that grew up in the nearby area. Usually, she would stock up in the morning and be set for the rest of the day but this time she completely forgot. 

“Zura…”

Hanamaru stood up while placing her hands over her tummy. What should she do? She was so hungry she felt like she could faint but there was no food remaining at her house anymore. She stood in front of the door but she didn’t dare to open it. The noises of owls, crickets and creatures of the night were keeping her from doing so. 

Even though all she had to do was to take a trip to the nearest apple tree, she was too afraid to do so. What if some wild animals were going to have dinner with those apples tonight? That’s how she tried to convince herself that not going was a much better choice. If that food could help some animals then they were more important, that is what she thought. And so, she simply returned to her bed and lied down to wait for the next day.

☆

“Are you sure this is where everyone is, zura?”

“Of course it is! When have I, Yohane, ever been wrong?”

“Well-”

“Silence!!” Yohane placed her index finger on Hanamaru’s lips. “Let us enter the forbidden land.”

“As long as there’s food there.”

Both had aimlessly walked around the imperial garden for a long time now. Even though Hanamaru knew well enough that letting Yohane guide them was a bad idea, she didn’t really mind this once in a while. Somehow, it reminded her of how things were back then. In a sense, this too, was a little adventure. Exploring without knowing where to go, not knowing who they would encounter or what would happen next, even if it was something as small as this, Hanamaru didn’t hate it. 

Once both stepped beyond the door in front of them, they were met with an incredible scene. It was a spacious room full of golden ornaments that shined brightly. The colors that spread in the environment as the light of the sun entered through the windows made them feel like they had stepped into another world entirely. But that wasn’t all. Inside the room, at least ten girls ran around frantically yet in sync. 

The moment Hanamaru noticed all the people inside she was assaulted by an incredible smell. It was the smell of all kind of meals being cooked. Fresh bread right out of the oven, the smell of clean vegetables and the smell of meat being fried, it all surrounded Hanamaru from different directions and delivered a critical impact that resounded in her soul.

Following Yohane’s instructions, both had stepped into the imperial kitchen. 

“Wait, wait! Where are you going?!” Yohane quickly stopped Hanamaru, grabbing her arms before she could rush towards the food.

“It’s heaven, zura!!”

“Hmph, what a horrible notion.” Yohane frowned. “Although… this smell isn’t bad…”

“Right?! Right?! Let’s go!!”

“G-Go where?!”

“To the food!!”

“No!!”

 

A few minutes after this, another figure walked towards the imperial kitchen. It was a girl with short orange hair and twin braids. 

“This is the worst.” Kasane complained under her breath. “How did I end up in this situation? To think I’m being forced to look after the imperial kitchen just like this. Who does that girl think I am, a chef?!” 

She nervously opened the door leading to the place where food was being prepared. It may have been her imagination but she felt a bad feeling because of how eerily silent everything was. However, once she stepped inside what waited for her was: a disaster. 

“R-Run while you can!!” One of the girls who was preparing food earlier yelled at her. 

Looking at the place it looked like it had become a battle zone. All the assistants and chefs lied down on the floor. But this wasn’t because of them taking any actual damage in battle. They were simply disheartened after all of their food had disappeared in an instant. 

Just what could have caused this? 

Kasane couldn’t even move a finger as she stared at everything in shock. Was it a monster? The enemy? Was A-RISE already here, did they come for her? 

And yet, the true culprits revealed themselves in an instant. 

“That was great, zura!” 

“I guess these mortals can prepare a good offering after all.”

The two girls walked outside the room, walking right past Kasane as if completely ignoring her presence. 

“…” 

The twin braided girl simply stared at both in disbelief and turned around, as if ready to call out to them and say something. In an instant however, she was pulled forward by her shirt and a pair of menacing violet eyes glared at her.

“You didn’t see anything.” Yohane spoke in a low and intimidating tone. 

Feeling completely defeated once again, Kasane collapsed on her knees as the two girls walked away without a care in the world.

☆

Was there really a thing such as someone with no purpose? Even though all the stories in her books always taught her otherwise, Hanamaru couldn’t help but feel like that was the case. After all, she wasn’t like the characters in these stories at all. She couldn’t see herself acting like a hot blooded hero not even in her dreams. She couldn’t see herself ever being able to go on an adventure with her friends, her body was too fragile to even be able to manage. But that wasn’t what bothered her the most.

Friends? What are friends? How do you make friends? No matter how much she read about it, she couldn’t understand the concept at all. After all, aside from the animals that lived nearby, she had never been able to approach anyone. It wasn’t like there was anyone to approach in the first place. 

Things like being able to read, to write, to talk and to take care of herself, she had no recollection of ever going through this learning process. In fact, she had no recollection of any earlier memories at all. Before she knew it, it was always like this. This is just how things were. But was that normal? 

The more she read the books the more she started to question things about her own existence. 

If other “humans” were real, if “friends” were real, then, where were they? Where could she meet them? Why did so many characters in these books have parents? What were parents? There was never anyone there to take care of her. She couldn’t understand at all. Why was everyone in her books so different? No, the ones that were different weren’t the characters in the book. After all, they were all the same in one way or the other. 

The one that was different was her. 

That was just how things were. There was no use thinking about it. Even though Hanamaru was very curious, she was easy to dismiss her thoughts if they made her uncomfortable or if she couldn’t find an answer.

But at that moment, maybe not having an answer was okay. 

After all, even if she did, there were chances that nothing would change. 

But… was it okay for things to stay like this forever? What was forever anyway? The same way that her books always came to an end, would everything come to an end one day?

☆

Hanamaru finally felt a lot more awake after being able to eat. Despite all of her studies about magic, she didn’t fully understand why her body was like that. It was as if her own Legendary Power got instantly refilled the moment she consumed food, but because of that, since the energy of the food was sent towards her magic, she was quick to start feeling hungry again. Usually, that was the case but all the meals at the Imperial Palace proved to be beyond exceptional, she felt beyond energized.

“Not here either?” Yohane slammed a door in the corridor. “Why is this place so damn big?!”

“It’s like a big country!!”

“Is it?!”

“It totally is, zura!!”

“I don’t know why that feels wrong but… if you say so I guess it must be true!”

Even though she was having a carefree conversation, Hanamaru couldn’t help but to feel a strange feeling in her chest. It was something that constantly happened to her and something she couldn’t do anything about. Even though she tried her best to not think about it, deep inside, she knew very well what it was. 

The friends she has now and the way her life has changed… when will it come to an end? Just like the stories in her books, deep inside, she knew that this wouldn’t last forever. One day, it would all come to an end. One day, there won’t be anyone to say “good morning” or “good night” anymore, and it will be back to the same way it always was. 

She knew that overthinking this may have been ridiculous. Even if something like that was true, there was no telling of when it would happen. It might not be right away at all, it may be years and decades later. But that’s exactly what was scary about it. It was the same as reading a really long book. Even though it felt like the story lasted for long, even though it took her weeks and months to finish it, it still came to an end. 

What if the end was closer than she thought? After all, Yohane had become quite close with the other girls who had suddenly joined their group and Ruby has been getting along great with the Saint Snow girl. 

Her first reaction was to feel happy for them. 

Seeing her friends making friends was a great feeling. But at the same time, she could feel a tiny stinging pain in her heart. She knew it probably wasn’t the case, it was just her thinking too much about it but… was she being left behind? 

As she lost herself in these thoughts, she followed Yohane across a long corridor. Even though she felt really lost in this place, the corridor felt familiar so it was likely that they were finally on the right track. 

Once Yohane opened the door and both walked inside, she was met with many familiar faces that were all gathered there. For some reason, just looking at them filled her with joy. It was something silly and something she wouldn’t admit to anyone but simply being around them made her feel like she wasn’t alone. 

“We finally made it, zura!” 

Hanamaru cheered but the fallen angel was still distracted while thinking about what happened earlier.

“That girl working at the kitchen really looked like Chika but she wasn’t the little demon how curious…” 

The two had been caught up on their carefree attitude that they didn’t notice the sudden reaction of shock coming from the commander of the imperial guard. 

“What are you?!” Yukiho raised her voice.

Hanamaru lost track of everything happening around her as her heart skip a beat the moment she saw Yukiho approaching her at a fast speed. 

“Zura?” 

She couldn’t bring herself to say anything and simply stared at her in shock. Even though she didn’t understand the situation, the moment Yukiho asked that question, something resounded deep inside her. It was a strange kind of pain Hanamaru wasn’t used to. After all, that was the same question she was used to ask herself all the time. 

“What am I…?” Hanamaru spoke her thoughts out loud without realizing it.

“S-Sorry!” Yukiho rapidly let go of her and took a step back. 

“Is there something wrong?” 

Alisa gave her a concerned look. It was rare to see Yukiho get worked up like this without a reason. On the other hand, Yukiho simply stared at the floor, trying to collect her thoughts but Hanamaru’s presence was overwhelming her. 

It was something Yukiho couldn’t explain or express properly. Thanks to her ability, she was used to being able to read and feel many different kinds of magic. This had become an everyday occurrence to her. It was the same as always even while on the presence of A-RISE. 

But this was different. 

The simplest way to express what she felt just now would be to say it was the same sensation as seeing a ghost. It was almost like she had come face to face with something supernatural, something that couldn’t be explained with the laws of this world and it was a very terrifying thing. 

“It’s nothing.” Yukiho tried to correct herself to stop this from becoming a big deal. “I’m just having a hard time reading your magic. What is your attribute?”

“I specialize on earth magic, zura!”

“That’s right!” Dia nodded proudly. “She has exceptional knowledge of magic and great control on earth magic; she’s been really helpful with our activities and investigation!!”

As everyone spoke, Hanamaru’s attention however was driven somewhere else. It was driven towards the radiant relic that was located on the table. She didn’t know why, but she was hit with a strange urge to get closer. She was being drawn in almost as if someone was whispering into her ear, giving her an order to go ahead and touch it. 

“Anyway.” Yukiho picked up the relic, taking it away just before Hanamaru’s fingertips could reach it. She didn’t know why, but she felt like it wasn’t a good idea to let her touch it. Instead, she decided that gathering more information was a better course of action. “Earth magic is somewhat rare, where did you meet this girl?”

“Ruby found her!!” The red pigtail girl gave an answer cheerfully. 

“Interesting, can you give me more details about it?”

(Huh?) 

Hanamaru found herself staring blankly at the relic in Yukiho’s hand. 

She couldn’t understand what was happening, she couldn’t understand her own thoughts, but something continued to push her, telling her to take it. 

It was a new feeling for her, was this… aggression? Anger? Whatever it was, something scary was building up inside her. Whatever it was, something was pushing her closer and closer to the edge, at this rate, was she still in control of her own body? Of her own thoughts?

As her mind went blank, a question she always asked echoed inside her head: _“What am I?”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like throughout the story so far, Hanamaru is the character that had been given the least focus when it came to her backstory and her own feelings. But we finally get to see a little peek of that! I hope you look forward to the development for this chapter! 
> 
> [If you like my content so far, I would appreciate it if you also checked out my original story: Scarlet Finale. 
> 
> It's a mystery and action story set in an abandoned city where strange occurrences have started to take place. You can find it by clicking [here!](https://www.honeyfeed.fm/novels/687)]


	40. Prelude of Light - Part 2

A little girl with red hair tied up in pigtails walked across the vast greenery of nature. As the sun started to set in the horizon, the world became embraced by a bright red color. A younger Ruby Kurosawa stopped whatever she was doing to admire the sky before her. For some reason, all the clouds in the area that surrounded her had completely disappeared, revealing a vast sky that reflected in her eyes.

She remained like this for a few minutes until the singing of an owl in the distance snapped her back to reality. The moment it did, the young girl frowned. The skies had started to become much darker and she finally noticed how late it was. But she couldn’t go home just yet; there was an important task she had to complete no matter what.

Ruby picked up a small pink bag she had placed on the floor. The bag seemed to be almost full and was so heavy that it made Ruby lean slightly to the side as she walked forward. 

“Just a little more, it should be around here right?” She spoke to herself with a faint voice. 

Today was the day that Ruby would start with practical study of alchemy, that is, if she completed her task. Up until now she had looked up to her sister who had worked really hard not only to learn everything there was to alchemy from textbooks but also to put into practice. 

The concept of alchemy wasn’t something entirely new to Ruby, it was something that she had witnessed her parents do before. But even then, every time she had been there to see the light of alchemy it had been breath taking. Even in a world where it was normal for people to use magic, this went beyond that. After all, they could create almost anything with a simple touch. There were even legends that lead could be turned into gold or that you could achieve eternal life and at this point Ruby believed that it wasn’t just a legend anymore. 

After working hard, her sister had obtained the power to activate alchemy. Even though all she did was to create a wooden flower, it was a moment Ruby could never forget. Because of this, Ruby didn’t want to be left behind. Not only did she admire what her sister was capable of doing but she wanted to place her hands on that radiance instead. 

After studying alchemy, a lot of things had become clearer for her. For example, the main difference between alchemy and magic. Magic was activated by borrowing or duplicating what could be found on nature. Be it wind, water, fire or earth, it was simply something that already existed in the world. In other words, it was just a reflection of the power of the world itself. 

But alchemy was different. Alchemy was the power of creation. Alchemy symbolized bringing something new into the world. That is why, if it was used properly, it was said that it could change the world itself. Alchemy had no limits, but that’s what made Ruby realize something, the limit were humans themselves.

Even with the power of creation, humanity was restricted to creating that which remained in their memories one way or the other. In other words, their imagination was their limit. There was no way for them to create something that they didn’t know about.

But… standing in the middle of the world like this. Feeling the breeze running through her body, looking at the shining moon as the red of the skies vanished in the horizon. Ruby realized she still didn’t know enough about the world. Maybe there were things beyond humanity that existed like something normal. 

What if something that wasn’t human gained this power? What would they be capable of? What could they create? But above all… what was her own limit? She wanted to find that out. 

Yet, alchemy wasn’t something so simple and something that everyone could get access to. The only reason Ruby had been allowed to read deeper into books to learn the base of how it worked was because she was also a member of the Kurosawa family. The family’s name had been widespread and well known as famous alchemists, because of this, after Dia started to improve, her powers became well known and she gained fame as an alchemist as well. 

However, this also meant that Dia more than anyone was well aware of the dangers this power could bring. This is why, Ruby was forbidden from using alchemy under any circumstances. Before she was allowed to do anything, she had to clear this quest given by her sister: to find a rare material and bring it back before a week passed by. 

In order to complete the quest, Ruby had been sent towards an area away from civilization. Even though the place was dangerous, to Dia, it was nothing compared to the danger of alchemy itself. And of course, if she were to face a dangerous situation while in her quest, Ruby wasn’t allowed to use any alchemy to protect herself either. 

While exploring the area, she hadn’t been able to find anything that was worthwhile aside from a few precious stones. Even though it was likely that she could sell some of those for high prices, she knew her sister wouldn’t be impressed at all. After all, Dia was well known for using a vast variety of the rarest stones for her alchemy. Carrying precious stones like diamonds and emeralds among others was common. Because of this she had even gained fame under the title of the Birthstone Alchemist. 

On the other hand, since she wasn’t able to find any materials to carry, the reason her bag was full was because it was full of fruits. Ruby shuddered at the thought of having to end up hunting wild animals in order to survive her week here. The younger Kurosawa sister was the kind that would feel guilty about having to kill even a bug. 

“Pigi!!”

The red haired girl suddenly fell down with her face against the ground. 

“Ow.” 

She rubbed her own head and held in her tears despite her nose and her forehead being bright red now. Before standing up, she turned around to look at what made her fall down in the first place. It was hard to tell because it was buried under grass and dust, but it looked like a really large red stone.

After looking around the area, there was a similar stone standing next to her. It was a red arc, like the ones at the entrance of a temple, but it had broken down and the half that fell had been taken over by nature. Did this mean that this used to be a temple of sorts? It was hard to think that something like that would be in the middle of nowhere. If it was, it was likely that it existed in very ancient times.

Ruby stood up and picked up her bag once again. For some reason, after seeing the broken arc of stone, she started to feel uneasy. Usually, it might have been just her imagination but this also connected to something else she had learned about alchemy.

When it came to magic, magic was used by letting out your own Legendary Power in the form of an element of nature. Since the power of Entropy spread the power of nature across the world, it was the same as returning the power to the world. On the other hand, for people who used magic, it was a process as similar and simple as breathing. In other words, it was as simple as taking in oxygen to live and then letting it out. 

But alchemy was the opposite. Even though alchemists were still powered up by the Entropy that sustains the world, they aren’t able to let that power out like magic. Instead, they give up their access to magic and use Legendary Power as fuel to be able to activate alchemy. Or in other words, they use that power as a sacrifice. 

One of the basic rules of alchemy is that there needs to be a balance and an order of things. For example, you can’t simply create gold using a small piece of wood. You could only create something else of equal value. However, this changed if you added your own Legendary Power. Legendary Power itself was different for everyone the same way some people may have better lung capacity or the same way some people may have stronger senses. 

If one were to sacrifice all that inner power to activate alchemy, they could bypass the requirements and add it to the equation. Doing that, they could still create something much bigger like a tank or even a precious stone by using only a piece of wood. 

But because alchemists played with the power of creation, they were sensitive to aspects of the world anyone else wouldn’t be able to perceive at all. Something that many people weren’t aware of was the lingering energy everyone leaves on objects or places. 

This energy was a combination of Legendary Power that would usually flow out of everyone, even if they weren’t proficient in magic and the essence of their very soul. For an alchemist, creating something meant leaving their very essence on that object but it was the same for everyone. 

Even if someone were to own something as simple as a book, an alchemist would be able to sense their essence in that book. What fascinated Ruby about this was that someone’s essence on an object or a place was stronger the more they had an emotional attachment towards it. 

And this is exactly the reason why she grew nervous once she walked past the broken arc. She was able to sense a really strong essence. This was nothing like anything she had experience before, not even from her family or her studies. She couldn’t put a finger on it but the essence that enveloped felt like something otherworldly. It almost felt like she was walking into a different plane of existence altogether. 

At the moment, she wasn’t able to realize it because she was too focused on this feeling, but the environment around her considerably changed the more she walked forward. She was now standing in what looked like an immense garden full of flowers of all colors. Even the trees that surrounded the area weren’t plain green trees like before. Every single leaf had a different coloration. It was a radiant and beautiful sight beyond her imagination. Even though it was late at night, the cape of stars that shined brightly over the area and the powerful full moon gave out a dream-like sensation. 

And yet, despite this colorful display, something wasn’t right.

“?”

Ruby stopped walking for a moment. She looked off into the distance and brought a hand to her chest, clenching her fist tightly. 

The deeper she moved into this area, the colder everything got. But it wasn’t like she was getting cold out of fear. It felt more like this area was slowly turning into a frozen wonderland. But that wasn’t it… that wasn’t what had shaken up Ruby so much. 

“What’s wrong…?” 

Ruby muttered under her breath as if trying to reach out to someone. Not only had the essence in this place gotten stronger but Ruby was able to notice a new sensation. It was a really strong aura of sadness and melancholy. 

Because it was easy for people’s essence to flow into something they have an emotional attachment to. This didn’t mean that there was always happiness behind that. For example, if someone received something from a deceased family member, their feelings of sorrow and pain would flow into the item instead. For example, if all someone had was a book, their feelings of loneliness would flow into that item as well. 

The young alchemist couldn’t understand it, but, being able to sense this sensation was overwhelming her. As she slowly moved forward more and more, tears had started to stream down her face, tears that she couldn’t stop no matter how hard she tried. 

And then, before she could realize it, she was standing before what looked like an old wooden cottage. 

She remained in the spot for a few minutes. Finding someone else inside there was scary. After being this close it was clear that the powerful essence that had spread across all this area came from here. 

And then, a faint sound could be heard from the other side of the door. It was so faint that Ruby was barely able to hear it but it was almost as if something had fallen to the floor. In that instant, the red haired alchemist didn’t know what it was that pushed her to do this, but she rapidly reached for the door and opened it. 

On the other side, there was a little girl that looked the same age as her, lying down on the floor while passed out.

☆

“Zura…?” 

The eyes of a little Hanamaru slowly opened. As her consciousness returned, she was quick to realize she was lying down on her bed. She couldn’t remember at all how did she fall asleep in the first place and soon after walking up her body felt weak. However as she scanned the room, she was able to notice a girl sitting on a corner of her bed.

“P-Pigii!!!” Ruby let out a squeal the moment Hanamaru’s honey-gold eyes locked up with hers.

“…?!” 

Hanamaru was startled as well. Who was this person here? W…What it really a person? She wanted to hide but she didn’t even have anywhere to run. Her room had always been the safest place to her after all.   
Without being able to think, she simply pulled on her blanket and hid her face. 

But even though she was startled, curiosity continued to push her so she took a peek from under the covers to stare at Ruby who was also staring back curiously.

Looking at her, all Ruby could think about was that this was just an ordinary girl. But the more she looked at her, the more mysterious she felt. The way she dressed was pretty simple: a white blouse and a long yellow skirt. Despite that, the pure white flower she wore on her head and her wrist band made with petals gave off the vibe that she was one with the nature of this place. 

“Um…” Ruby was the first one to try and break the ice. “Do you… want one of these?”

After reaching into her bag, Ruby pulled out an apple. And just as fast as the apple approached Hanamaru, it disappeared from Ruby’s hand in an instant.

“?!” Ruby stared in disbelief. The apple had completely disappeared and it was not in the girl’s hand anymore either.

“That was delicious, zura!”

“You already ate it?!”

But Hanamaru simply tilted her head while looking confused, she couldn’t understand why Ruby was shocked at all.

As if trying to experiment, Ruby reached for her bag once again, this time she pulled two apples instead and held each on her hands. She then approached the strange girl slowly and carefully. Once again, both apples disappeared in seconds.

“…”

“What’s wrong?” 

Hanamaru asked as her voice trembled a bit. It wasn’t so much that she was nervous about interacting with someone, it was more that she didn’t understand anything at all. This was completely different from anything she had seen in her books. After all, in her books, the character’s feelings would often be explained or their expressions would be described. 

But even then, it was easier to picture a character with an angry or confused expression than looking at someone making those expressions in person. Just by looking at Ruby’s face, Hanamaru couldn’t understand her at all. Was this girl angry right now? Was she sad? Was she hungry?

It was the first time she was able to have this thought but: Hanamaru realized how impressive the characters in her books were. After all, in most situations they always had a way to keep the dialogue going. They always had something to say. But… what should she say? How do you talk with others? All this time she had thought that if she ever met someone she would have lots of things to talk about but now, she simply remained in absolute silence.

Despite this, she was able to relax a little after she noticed the red haired girl was starting to fall asleep. The toll it had taken Ruby to get all the way here in the first place had been a lot so once she got to somewhere that felt safe, she passed out on a corner of the bed almost right away.

This time, even though there was still silence, Hanamaru felt at peace. Even though there was silence, she felt a strange aura of comfort. She felt like it was okay to be silent if this was with this person. Even though she knew nothing about her, or how did she get here, it felt like as long as this person was here everything would be okay. Smiling to herself, Hanamaru got up and covered Ruby with a blanket.

☆

“Sis… just five more minutes.” Ruby spoke while half asleep. 

“But it’s been five minutes already.” Hanamaru continued to gently tap on Ruby’s shoulder. “Wake up, zura.”

“Ruby… doesn’t want to…”

“Look, I even brought you this!” 

“Hm?”

Ruby’s eyes barely opened out of curiosity but then she was snapped awake in an instant.

“Pigii!!!” Ruby jumped up startled to look at what the girl held in her hands. “This is!?”

What Hanamaru held in her hands was a really large and round translucent stone. The rays of light that entered the room reflected on the stone, which in turn illuminated everything like a prism. As an alchemist, Ruby was able to recognize how rare this material was in an instant: it was mythril. 

Not only was this one of the highest quality and rarest materials, but it was something that her sister was looking for. Ruby didn’t know the details but it seems like she wanted it in order to craft a weapon for someone. 

“A-Are you sure?!”

“I’m sure, zura!” Hanamaru on the other hand didn’t know how rare this was, but even if she knew, she would have handed it over right away. To her, it was only a rare and beautiful stone, but it was one of the best possessions she had after her books. “You gave me food so this is to thank you!!”

“R…Ruby is so grateful!!” This time, tears of happiness rolled down Ruby’s eyes.

With this, her mission was complete. She would be able to impress her sister and she would be able to start using actual alchemy. There was no reason to stay here anymore, so she stood up, grabbed her bag and walked towards the exit of the house.

“Are you leaving?”

“I need to go back where my sister is.” Ruby nodded. 

Hanamaru didn’t say anything and simply replied with a sheepish smile and a nod. With this, even if it was short lived and sudden, she had finally managed to meet someone else. She had finally managed to confirm that real people do exist. And above all, she had managed to confirm that they looked just like her. 

It was goodbye, but…

“Um…” Ruby stopped before she reached for the door. She stared at the floor for a moment, almost as if afraid to talk. She hadn’t given it much thought because she was interacting with someone else, but the sensation of sadness that filled the place was without a doubt coming from this person. “Do you… want to come with me?”

“Zura?!”

Hanamaru didn’t know what to think. Was someone actually offering to take her out into the world? But… why? She didn’t know anything about her, she didn’t even know her name, so why?

Even if you asked Ruby, she didn’t have a clear answer either. Ruby was insecure and afraid of people, she knew she could even get in big trouble with her sister but… was it okay to leave this person here all by herself? Not only was this place filled in with a heavy atmosphere but she had found her passed out. What if Ruby never came by? 

“If you don’t want to that’s okay but… Ruby… Ruby wants you to come with her.”

“I’ll go, zura!!” And yet, Hanamaru responded without hesitating at all. After all, she had nothing to lose. 

It had all happened so sudden. It had all been so simple. But the two had managed to make a connection that would change their lives from this moment onwards. 

 

Hanamaru packed some of her most precious belongings in an old bag, it was mostly her favorite books. Unlike Ruby’s fancy-looking bag, Hanamaru’s was just a plain and old white bag. 

With this, the two young girls walked outside the cottage, leaving that lonely land behind and heading towards a new future. At the moment, despite how excited she was to see the world, something did bother Hanamaru at the back of her mind. She couldn’t help but to wonder what happened to someone she had met once before, but at this point, she had accepted that she may not see her again.

However, later that night. 

Unbeknown to them, a figure had entered using one of the windows that was left open. 

“Rejoice zuramaru, for I have arrived once again!!” A tiny voice laughed. 

Her laugh echoed across the walls of the lonely house but she was met with nothing but the absolute silence of that desolated world. The young girl with a blue bun had been left behind.

“Hana…maru?”

☆

“I see, so you found her in a forest and she’s really proficient in the use of magic.” Yukiho tried to analyze the information she received after hearing what Ruby had to say.

“Can I ask something?” Dia raised her hand, changing the topic altogether. “What is this “Aether” exactly? You mentioned something about it being able to help restoring the world, surely you have a base for saying that, correct?”

“We just know what’s on the records in the palace’s library.” Alisa jumped it to explain. “According to what it says there, Aether is the essence of life. In other words, it is the power of the soul. If we assume the world is decaying because it is running out of Legendary Power, we believed Aether might be able to restore it.”

“We are just working using assumptions though.” Yukiho added. “This is why I can’t tell for sure, but I do feel a strange power coming from this. Though, I’m not able to get a read on what it is at all.”

“So… is it like the reverse of Chika’s power?” Riko theorized while speaking out loud.

“The reverse of my power…?”

“If you think about it.” Riko explained. “Dark Matter devours power, while Aether restores power. That’s probably why you couldn’t get it to activate either.”

“Yes, I believe she is correct.” Yukiho looked at both while lost in thought. “But we can’t say for sure. For now, there is an absolute step we must take if we want to do something about our situation before it’s too late.”

“Something we must do…?” You repeated out loud.

“Yes. We need to complete the ceremony of coro-”

“Yukiho!!” 

A new voice yelled as the doors to the room suddenly opened. It came from a girl with twin braids who collapsed into the floor right away, blood running down her forehead. 

“What’s wrong?!” Yukiho ran towards her, placing the Aether on top of the table. “What happened?!”

“They… found us. I’m sorry.” She coughed, barely being able to speak. “I didn’t say anything… I swear… I don’t know how…”

“!?” 

Just by looking at this, everyone in the room became wary of anything that could happen. A tense atmosphere enveloped the place as Kasane spoke.

“A-RISE… is here.”

“A-RISE…?” You and Riko whispered under their breath with trembling voices. 

For them to find them and to get here so fast, unless Tsubasa had used her void magic, there was only one possible answer: the person who had found them was Anju. 

However, while everyone’s attention was focused on the imminent danger. Hanamaru’s attention was somewhere else.

The brunette’s eyes were locked on the Aether that remained on top of the table. Before anyone could notice or do anything, her hands started to move towards the relic.

“Maru?” Ruby’s voice couldn’t reach her. “What are you doing-?!” Yohane’s sudden yell couldn’t reach her.

The moment Hanamaru’s fingers touched the relic everything was engulfed with a pure, absolute light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the delay!
> 
> To answer nana_thyme's question, I realized I may have made a few things about Yohane confusing, so I'm going to go ahead and give a quick explanation to clear things up! 
> 
> Both regular Yoshiko, and Yohane when she enters Fallen Angel/Demon mode are referred to as "Yohane"
> 
> The way to tell them apart is that usually, when she enters Fallen Angel mode, I try to make her entrance very noticeable and the narration will usually start referring to her by her full title: "Fallen Angel Yohane." When she's regular Yohane it may sometimes refer to her as "the fallen angel" but it's not the same as her title. 
> 
> So back in "Gateway - Part 2" the scene that has this line: "Fallen Angel Yohane’s presence faded away and Yohane opened her eyes wide," is meant to imply that she reverted back into her regular self/Yoshiko. So she's been just regular Yohane ever since. I hope this clears that up!


	41. Luminous Advent - Part 1

An intense, pristine light continued to expand, engulfing everything within. As it did, slowly but surely, visible cracks spread across the very fabric of space. 

And then, everything broke apart. 

“What happened…?” 

Yohane kneeled down on the floor. An immense pressure continued to force her body down, almost as if the power of gravity had grown twice in size. Her senses weren’t responding at all, her sight was blurry and all she could hear was the sound of space itself shattering around her. 

Beyond her mind and body not being able to catch up with the current situation, it felt like something had suddenly shaken up her very soul. Her body was surrounded by powerful warmth, but at the same time, an immense fear ran deep inside her. It was a fear like nothing she had ever felt before. Even though she wasn’t aware, at that time, she was gasping for air and cold sweat rolled down her forehead. She couldn’t do anything but to keep her eyes closed shut. 

(What’s wrong?) She screamed inside her mind. (What are you so scared of, Yoshiko?!)

Her body felt paralyzed. She was trying to put all of her willpower to try and open her eyes but a strange, powerful pressure continued to stop her. Her thoughts were all going out of sync; she couldn’t even form any coherent sentences anymore in her mind. 

Life. World. Landscape. Star. Unity. Creation. Light. Magic. Fear. Flow. Window. Key. Crown. Plasma. Ocean. Sun. Fire. Sound. Happiness. Wind. Thunder. God. Reality. Universe. Entropy. Abnormal. Alchemy. Talisman. Terror. Pattern. Impulse. Empire. Disaster. Illusion. Eclipse. Shrine. Storm.

Strings of words continued to run inside her head without stopping, making her lost all grasp of reality, making her lose all grasp of her own existence, of what was left or right, up and down. It felt like her very soul was floating in the midst of nothing and everything. 

“Yoshiko.” And yet, a voice reached out to her in the midst of her chaos. It was a voice that resembled hers yet deeper. A voice that reached out to guide her, and yet, it radiated a strong, malicious aura. “Yoshiko, this time, I need you to do this for me.”

“…?”

“You need to do this for the both of us.” Fallen Angel Yohane spoke. “You need to save her.”

Even though the words weren’t clear, she was able to see a clear image. It was a nostalgic scene, something she could never forget. Standing inside an old wooden house, a young girl cried while hiding her face behind a dusty book. It was someone that was so close and yet, so far away. 

And so, her tiny sobbing voice drowned out everything. 

“That’s right.” Yohane’s eyes opened wide. Despite all the pressure pushing her down, she stood up. “I have to save her.”

Once she opened her eyes, an ethereal scene greeted the fallen angel. She was sure she had been standing inside a room with everyone else, and while the floor of that room was still under her feet, nothing else was the same. 

Yohane stood in the middle of a vast void. The only thing supporting her feet was a shattered piece of the ground below her. It was as if the world itself had broken apart. Parts of the building and even from all around the royal garden all drifted in the void. But even then, even if everything looked like a colorless blank world, something still illuminated and brought life to this place. 

The fallen angel opened the palm of her hand to catch a yellow flower petal. As she stood in this void, more petals of all kinds and colors descended into nothingness while glowing with a bright light. 

“What is this?”

She looked around and then kneeled down to see what was under her feet. As expected, all she could see were more pieces of the land scattered around into an ever-expanding void. She didn’t even want to think what would happen if she were to fall down at a place like this. But even if that sounded like the worst possible outcome, what should she do now? Where was everyone else right now? 

Somehow, jumping down and hoping to land on some of the solid ground that floated in midair felt like a good option but at the same time she knew her misfortune wouldn’t be so kind. No, maybe that wasn’t it at all. 

This time, the fallen angel looked up. Even though everything looked almost the same, it felt like something was calling out to her from above. She clenched her fist, crushing the petal that had landed in her hand. She didn’t know what it was, but she also felt irritated. She felt like this is something that shouldn’t have happened at all, like it was something she should have been able to stop. This shouldn’t have ever happened in the first place. What was this pain in her chest? What was this feeling that told her it was all her fault? 

Trying to escape from her negative thoughts, she took a step forward and jumped up. As she did, all her senses were thrown out of order. Even though she jumped it felt like she was falling. Startled by the sudden sensation she tried to grab unto the closest floating piece of land next to her. She used all her strength to keep herself from falling and climbed on top of that land. It was a piece of grass from the royal garden. 

But something wasn’t quite right. She felt as though she was falling but once she looked down, she was able to see the floor where she had been standing on. That meant that she had managed to move upwards after all. The fallen angel let out a sigh, she just wanted to continue lying down on the grass but she knew it wasn’t an option. 

“I know I’m a fallen angel but this is ridiculous.” 

She took a deep breath. At this point she had no choice but to get used to that falling sensation. After taking a small step forward, she jumped up with all her strength right away.

☆

Even in a world where millions of souls were continuously born, she had become blinded by the one who had lost all its light.

_“PXXXe, XXXt gX.”_

☆

“Riko, are you okay?!”

Chika kneeled down to hold Riko’s shoulders. The long haired girl had suddenly collapsed and her face looked pale.

“I’m fine, I just felt sick for a moment.” She replied with a really faint voice.

“Hey!! Chika!! Are you there?” A voice yelled, it sounded like it was very close. 

The orange haired girl walked down to the edge of the land where she stood, only to notice the gray haired girl standing on a platform below and waving.

“You!!” Chika waved back at her. “We are right here!!”

“I’ll be right there!!”

The young captain launched herself forward with a lot of force but the sudden falling sensation made her lose her composure. She had jumped up high enough to reach Chika, but she wasn’t able to reach the platform and began descending. However, her body came to a sudden stop.

“I… got you!” Chika spoke with difficulty as she held one of You’s hands as tightly as she could.

“This is the worst!” Riko complained, she had barely managed to make herself function to take a grasp on You’s other hand. 

With their combined efforts, they were able to make the gray haired girl reach their platform safely. 

The place where the trio was located seemed like it used to be part of the fountain located by the center of the imperial garden. However, defying all laws, the water that flowed out of the fountain ran upwards, high into the void and spread out like ascending rain. 

“That was close.” You sighed as she sat on the ground. “Just what is this?!”

“Do you think this happened because of A-RISE?” Riko was afraid to ask but she believed it was best to bring it up as soon as possible.

“Hm, A-RISE has really incredible powers but…” The captain stared at her surroundings, focusing really hard on everything she was able to see. “This feels different.”

As the three remained lost in thought, something had suddenly changed. With a faint noise, almost as if a crystal had gently hit a metallic surface, a glint of pink light sparked around the girls.

“?!” 

You reached for her pocket and Riko stared at the gem hanging down her neck. Both Love Gems had been fully recharged and shone brightly with a radiant pink light. Even when they were ready to use, the gems usually remained in a dormant state and looked like a precious stone, however this time it was as if they were reacting to something.

“It feels different but…” You spoke with a faint tone as she stared at the gem in her hand. “If A-RISE is really here then maybe with these…”

“Don’t do it.” Riko immediately pushed You’s hand away. “I don’t think we should use the Love Gems right now.”

“Why?” Chika tilted her head. “Wouldn’t they come in handy now of all times?!”

“I know but…”

Riko felt conflicted. From the very beginning using the power of the Love Gem was something that made her uneasy. Even though she had managed to go past that barrier on more than one occasion, things were different now. Even though her memories were a big blur, the sensations running through her body after escaping the Heart Glass Syndrome still remained. Some of the information she had received that day still remained. 

After all her physical body was still present at that time, after all, even before that, even if she couldn’t interact with anyone, she was still there, witnessing everything. 

And above all, there was something that bothered her the most. 

_“Calling an idolization means merging with a soul from a different reality. But you can’t choose the reality at will so easily, you could say it happens at random.”_

The events were a blur but the voice of Fallen Angel Yohane remained in her head. The thought of letting your soul becoming one with another, even if that was also “you” from another reality, it was a disturbing thought for her. But the main problem was that it was _random._ What if the version of herself that hurt others came back by accident? Had she known about this possibility she would have never even attempted to use the power of the gem before. And now that she had this information… could she really let anyone use that power as well? 

“There has to be another way.” Riko spoke. She spoke with a convincing tone even though she wasn’t sure of what she was saying herself. For now, her best option was to buy time until she could figure something out. “Right now we have not encountered any enemies and the power of the gems doesn’t last for that long. For all we know they could backfire now that they are acting weird. Let’s try to figure out what to do first.”

“You have a point.” You nodded. She clenched her fist with the gem inside and put it back into her pocket. “Let’s prioritize regrouping with everyone. It’s better if we are together at a time like this.”

“Hmm.”

Chika on the other hand was completely lost in thought. She was distracted looking at the shining flower petals that descended over them. Every time a petal touched the palm of her hand, a strong black aura would engulf it and consume it along with its light. 

Even though she had experienced the power of Dark Matter many times before, this was the first time she could take her time to remain calm and not use it in the middle of combat. Looking at it from this perspective further cemented the thought on Chika that this was now a part of her. 

But… had this always been a part of her? Had it been something that was there from the very beginning? Or was this something supernatural and separate that had clung to her for a reason? 

The more she continued to think about these things the more she couldn’t take her eyes away from her hand as it continued to consume away the shining radiance.

☆

Even in a frozen wonderland where time had come to a stop, she had been found by a warm radiance. And yet, she had forgotten what the most important thing was.

_“XlXXsX, XonX XXXve mX.”_

☆

“Is everyone okay?!”

Yukiho turned around to look at the people behind her. Fragments of ice fell around them as a shield created by Alisa’s magic was dispelled. Both had tried to take action the moment it all happened but even then they ended up separated as well.

“W-What is this?!” Kanan stared in awe at the broken scenery before her.

“This… is familiar.” Ria muttered while talking to herself. “It feels like that place.”

“So they are the only ones we managed to protect.” Yukiho clicked her tongue.

“It doesn’t seem like anything hit the shield, so we weren’t harmed.” Alisa brought a finger to her chin. “Everyone is probably safe somewhere.”

“You are right but…for this to happen just when we got word about A-RISE infiltrating.”

“Are you able to sense A-RISE’s magic?”

“No. I don’t know what’s going on but I’m not able to sense anything while in this space, not even your magic Alisa. It’s like something is blocking it.”

Yukiho looked distressed. Without her ability to analyze and copy magic her abilities were as good as sealed. On top of that for someone that was as sensitive as her to the flow of magic, she was being overwhelmed by the intense flow of energy that surrounded this place. 

“I guess that leaves me no choice then.” Alisa clapped her hands together and smiled.

“What are you going to-?!”

The moment Yukiho raised her voice, Kanan and Ria’s attention was instantly driven towards them instead.

“I’m sorry.” Alisa spoke while looking at Kanan and Ria. “Looks like my fiancée here might be useless in this situation, so please look after her, okay~?”

“What?!” “Fiancée?!” Kanan and Ria yelled at the same time. 

“You didn’t have to tell them that!!!!!!” Yukiho yelled, her face rapidly turning bright red. 

Alisa on the other hand simply waved at them and in an instant she was already gone far ahead of them, at least five platforms away. Soon enough, they lost her sight completely. 

As Yukiho sat on the floor while staring at the ground, Kanan and Ria simply looked at each other, not knowing what to say or do.

(“S-Shouldn’t you say something?!”) Kanan whispered, growing more and more uncomfortable by the silence.

(“You are the older one here, you should take responsibility!!”)

(“Responsibility about what?!”)

(“I don’t know, okay?! But you can’t just leave her there like that!”)

(“Yes I can and I will!!”)

(“Tch. Sister was right you are all a bunch of cowards after all.”)

“…” 

But then, Yukiho suddenly stood up. Kanan and Ria both halted on the spot as she glared at them, walking closer and closer. 

“I will have you forget everything.”

☆

Why is it that she came to this world again? She hated that she couldn’t remember. There must have been a reason to come to this contaminated, broken place.

“I wXXt lXt yXX fXXl.”

☆

“Can you stop complaining and get us out of here already?!” Seira looked down at the platform not too far away from here.

“Hmph! Even if you say that you will not fool me, you were probably planning this all along!” Dia looked away and crossed her arms. 

Above the rocky platform where Dia stood, a tree floated upside down and Seira sat on the top, hugging whatever stuck out of the trunk for her life. 

“Like I told you I’m not-!!”

“WOW!!” 

“Mari?! What are you doing up there as well?!”

“Please don’t move around too much!” Seira glared at the blonde. “We are going to fall otherwise!!”

“Oh? SKYDIVING!!”

“Is it just me or is the energy in this place getting to her…?” 

Dia stared at Mari with a nervous expression. Even though Mari was always a very cheerful person, seeing her all giggly and hyper like this felt somewhat off. It was too much even for her usual self. 

“Listen.” Seira’s voice grew colder. “If we end up falling down I swear I’m going to-!”

“Hm? _What?_ what are you going to do, huh? Tell me. What will you do?!” 

“Y-You are getting too close to my face, haven’t you heard about personal space?!”

“Space? Oh, so we are in SPACE!! It’s so SHINYY!!”

Looking at the scene before her, all Dia could think about was one thing.

(Thank god that is not me up there.)

But as annoyed as Seira was with the situation. Part of her was grateful that she didn’t end up alone in this place. After all, the overflowing energy, the broken world around her and the colorful lights dancing around… even if it wasn’t the same, the sensation this place gave her was all too similar to a place she had been to before. It was all too similar to a place where everything had changed. 

Had she ended up on her own, she might have been consumed by the energy of this place. She might have been consumed by the fears buried deep inside her, by her memories, by her regrets. 

And even though all this time she would rather not think about it, she couldn’t avoid a thought that haunted her. Was Tsubasa in a place like this now? Was the Tsubasa she knows now… the real one? Could she see her again if she went back there? And now that she is here… could this be her chance to do something about it?

☆

At some point, her reason to stay in this world had changed. At some point, that which defined her existence had changed. What am I? She could never find the answer. Why was she obsessed with that question? What was she forgetting?

_“IX tXXs rXXlX oXXX?”_

☆

“Maru.” Ruby looked down as she clenched her fist against her chest. “So you still feel like this after all.”

The red pigtail girl stood on top of a broken bridge. The water from the pond all floated a few meters above her head and the lights of the falling petals reflected on it. 

At that moment, the red haired girl wasn’t able to move. She was overwhelmed by emotions and different sensations. It was a feeling that she knew all too well. It was something she experienced for the first time the day that she found her. That day, she couldn’t help but to cry, she couldn’t help but to want to help this person. 

The encounter from that day had changed her life. But even though the sensation wasn’t as strong, it was still a sensation Ruby grew to experience every day. Even if it was small actions like borrowing Hanamaru’s books or fixing her clothes, every time her hands came in contact with her property, a tiny sensation would still sting Ruby little by little. 

But maybe… she got used that sensation. Maybe, she got caught up in the fact that they had gotten close. Maybe, she had taken that person’s happiness for granted. And maybe… at some point, she started to ignore her pain. At some point, all of that had become normal. 

All this time, deep inside, she might have tried to ignore it. She might have thought that things were getting better. She might have thought that if she didn’t think about it, things would resolve themselves. That everything would get better eventually. 

“Ruby…” The red haired girl bit her lips. “Ruby is so sorry.”

As she stood in this place, Ruby could tell. She could tell that every single petal was filled with different emotions, that they were filled with pain, jealously, loneliness. She could tell that they were filled with a strong sensation of abandonment. And she could tell that all these feelings had come raining down like teardrops. 

Even though the scenery looked so unreal, colorful and beautiful it was being painted by so much suffering.

Just for how long had she been holding this in? Knowing her, she might have kept it inside forever. Thinking that this pain had become another normal part of their everyday life had been wrong. Thinking that everything would be okay in the end even if she didn’t do anything had been wrong. 

Even though they were always together, even though she was always smiling, thinking back on all those times, there was always pain in her eyes, wasn’t there? 

If she had paid a little more attention, if she had actually tried her best like she always liked to claim, would this still have happened? 

Ruby fell down on her knees. Her mind wasn’t even registering what her eyes saw. All she could see was the image of that smiling girl, all she could see was that pain which reflected on her golden-honey eyes. 

The young alchemist felt so numb that she couldn’t even cry, no matter how much she wanted to. 

No. This was wrong. What was she doing? Just to stand here lamenting her mistakes wouldn’t do anything. No matter how much it hurt, no matter how much she reflected on it, that wouldn’t do anything. If she truly wanted to change something, if she truly wanted to do her very best, then she had to take some kind of action. 

At this point, her senses had all shut down. Thinking about it wouldn’t take her anywhere. She had to do something. She had to do something as soon as possible. 

With a blank expression, her fingertips moved across the ground. The golden spark of alchemy activated for an instant, making a tiny pillar shoot up but its foundation was broken apart in seconds before its shape could fully change.

“It barely works here.” She muttered under her breath. 

Even if her option was just a “barely,” it was still something. No matter how small the chance was, as long as there was one, she had to take it. Giving up by convincing herself that she was powerless was the same as ignoring everything up till now. It was the same as pretending it would all work out and running away. 

“Ruby… no. I have to do my Rubesty.” She whispered with a bitter voice, as if trying to console herself. 

Immediately afterwards, a loud sound echoed across the void as Ruby slammed her fist against the ground with all her force. 

The ground itself shot upwards forming a huge pillar that fell apart in seconds. It was barely enough to take her to the next platform up, but just close enough was good enough. Even though she never had good physical strength, she held unto the platform with all her might, forcing her body up into the surface. 

This alone had been just one step. She felt almost drained and out of energy, but she was just getting started. This time, she would do something. 

“Just you wait.” 

The red pigtail girl and the blue bun girl spoke as both clenched their fists at the same time. 

They stood above different platforms in the midst of the never ending void. An incredible pressure weighted down on their hearts, but this is exactly why, they were ready to keep going even if their very soul were to break in the process. 

The two looked up, staring at the radiant display of lights that surrounded them. 

A powerful determination was reflected on their eyes as Ruby and Yohane took another step forward.

“I’m not going to abandon you.” “I’m going to save you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somehow, I feel like the style I used for this chapter might be a little different than usual but I wanted to focus on conveying everyone's feelings while capturing the surreal situation they are all in. And above all, what I wanted to reflect the most were Hanamaru's feelings.


	42. Luminous Advent - Part 2

Step by step, she continued moving forward. The world around her had been pained by a scale of grey colors. It was devoid of life but it was full of emotion. The sound of waves approaching closer and closer embraced her cold heart. 

She could not feel her body anymore. Her voice could no longer manifest. Her mind could no longer process any thoughts. 

The sparkling full moon reflected on her eyes and the young brunette took another step towards the edge of the world.

☆

Using her legs to launch herself, Yohane continued moving across the platforms in the broken world as fast as she could. Even while moving across the air, her cape didn’t flutter with the wind. In fact, there was no wind at all.

After reaching what looked like the broken half of a large bed, Yohane hung into its base while lying on the floor. She stopped to catch her breath but her body rapidly collapsed against the cold floor. 

“What an unbelievable pressure.” She gasped for air. Her entire body hurt, it was as though there was something crushing her slowly, pushing her back and pushing her away. “The higher I go the worst it gets.”

Yohane put every last ounce of strength into forcing her body to stand up, but the moment she did, her head began spinning violently, forcing her to sit back into the floor. 

_“YoXXXX.”_

The voice inside her head tried to reach out to her but everything was drowned by a strange distortion. All Yohane could hear was a sound similar to static. She felt as though her head was being contaminated by thoughts that weren’t hers. 

“It’s you again, isn’t it? The malicious core that resides inside me.” Yohane spoke while using her hand to hold her head. “I’m sorry but it looks like the broken world is no longer able to process the words of an existence like yours and this holy domain is actively trying to eradicate us.”

After saying this, Yohane’s eyes opened wide. She knew that she had a base for saying what she said out loud. She was convinced about the information she had given away. But… why did she know this? 

This realization shook her very soul for a moment. Who was she talking to just now? No. No. She had no time to think about that. That could wait. Right now, there was something she had to do. Right now, she didn’t have the leisure to worry about that. 

_Clash_

The sound of weapons colliding reached her ears.

“?!”

The fallen angel looked up, only to witness a combat that was taking place just a few platforms above where she stood. 

 

In the midst of ever expanding void, sparks and lights of all colors danced around. 

“Tch. To think A-RISE soldiers would show up at a time like this.” 

Yuri, the tall imperial guard with long hair, complained. She had found herself surrounded by enemy soldiers while her back faced the guard with long twin-tails, Coco. With her sword in her hand, she had managed to stop the enemy’s blade. The sound of metal clashing against each other resounded and with a kick, the enemy was sent flying towards the bottom of the abyss. 

“Hawawa, but it seems like they got separated as well!”

Instead of using her weapon, Coco spread her arms in front of her, creating a barrier of fire magic to stop all the incoming attacks. Her arms continued shaking as projectiles and even direct strikes from different weapons all crashed against the barrier. 

Even as some of the A-RISE soldiers continued to be defeated, they were still vastly out-numbered. It wasn’t likely that they would last too long like this.

“Tch.” 

Yohane clicked her tongue. She didn’t have the time to stop and help them but there were no other platforms nearby for her to jump onto. If she was to continue across her path, she had to step into that battlefield. 

Taking a deep breath, Yohane prepared herself. She would jump there and launch an attack immediately to create an opening but instead she let out a gasp and her body froze over. 

An image that brought back a powerful feeling of terror reflected on the fallen angel’s eyes. 

It was still far away, it was much deeper into this never ending void, but she saw the figure of an older girl casually hoping across the platforms cheerfully. It was Anju. Judging by the look of it, she was exploring the area. She wasn’t really paying mind to her surroundings; she didn’t even care about the battle noises that came from the place where all her soldiers were engaged. 

But even knowing she hadn’t noticed them couldn’t bring Yohane relief. Knowing that someone so dangerous was close by was enough to make her panic. Facing an opponent like this with most of the group present had already turned into an impossible battle. In the end, they didn’t stand a chance. In the end, that sensation of her very life slipping away was burnt into Yohane’s soul. 

She feared for her own safety. Simply looking at Anju’s figure was enough to terrify Yohane to her very core. But something soon made her stop breathing for a second. Looking at Anju, it seemed like her attention was directed towards something else. She had stopped to look at the place above her. She raised her head, staring at the colorful flowers that continued to descend. 

And then Yohane could see it. She could see Anju’s smile turn into a grin before she changed her trajectory, going upwards at a high pace. 

This wasn’t the time to be scared. This wasn’t the time to doubt what to do. She had to keep moving, she had to go. She knew she had to go but… her body wouldn’t stop shaking. It had gone out of sync with her thoughts. No matter how powerful her will was, no matter how strong her desire to save someone was, her body wouldn’t respond. 

_“YoXXXX, whXX’s wXXXg? Xou XXve tX go.”_

Even though the voice was distorted, even though acknowledging the other voice inside her scared her, it felt like something had clicked inside her. She didn’t realize it, but a white flower petal had fallen on top of her head. 

The moment it did, Yohane found herself standing outside an old cottage.

☆

A cottage surrounded by a never ending field of flowers. It was a place she was familiar with.

She had always wanted to know what was inside that house. It was the single structure that stood out in the middle of nothingness. But that wasn’t all there was to it, there was something that drew her towards that house. 

It was a nostalgic sensation. It was an air of familiarity. But she couldn’t put her finger on it. Even if she tried to look back into her memories to find an answer, all of her memories before that point where a jumbled mess. 

Yoshiko didn’t know who she was, she didn’t know how did she end up there, she didn’t know how did she live her life until that point. If anything, it felt like that was the point where her life had started.

What was this place? How could she enter the place? Even the concept of a “door” was foreign to her.

She stood outside, looking at the place but in the end nothing had changed. Once the sun went down, Yoshiko decided to go back to what she called home. Her home was nearby, just outside the flower of fields. It was what looked like a small dark cave. The cave itself was really dirty, it was full of dust and rocks but there were also fruits lying around. 

Once the day was over, she walked towards a pile of leaves she had collected to make a bed but she couldn’t fall asleep. Finding that place, that image was stuck in her head. She felt the urge to rush and go back but she knew that it was dangerous to go outside when it was dark. 

Tossing around and turning while full of thoughts, her body eventually fell asleep.

The next day… this time for sure! That is what she thought. She was up incredibly early, so early that the skies were tinted with a faint red with the sun still rising up in the horizon. 

A little girl with blue hair tied into a bun cheerfully ran into the flower field. The breeze of the morning energized her and the singing birds welcomed her. She was having fun, she loved being there. 

But then, something startled her. An apple fell to the ground right next to her.

“?” Yoshiko picked the apple up. 

What startled her was not the apple itself; it was a rattling noise she could hear from above. She looked up to look at the source of the noise but she was blinded by a powerful light. 

If only for a split second, she was certain she saw six beautiful wings flapping across the air. They looked like otherworldly wings, not even the most beautiful birds could compare. And as they danced in the air, she could see the owner of such wings. It was a figure with long and silky hair that had her back turned to her. The blinding light had come from a vertical halo that rested on the back of her head. 

Yoshiko rubbed her eyes, she felt completely speechless. But once she continued staring, what she saw was different. 

A tiny girl stood on top of a tree branch. Even though Yoshiko didn’t understand the concept of age, her instincts told her that they were the same. Despite this looking so different from the image that she saw before, this little girl still had long silky hair that rested on her back. Her silhouette was illuminated by the light of the rising sun, giving her an ethereal look. 

“Hm?” 

The young brunette slowly turned around. Her attention was driven towards the apple that had fallen from her hands just moments ago. However, instead of finding the apple, her attention was immediately driven somewhere else. There was… something? Someone? Standing there. Something… that looked just like her. 

She was just as small, the structure of their body was the same but her eyes were of a light violet color and her hair was a dark blue. Was it an animal? No, she had never seen an animal like this. Was this… was this the concept she had seen only through her books? Something she had seen only through pictures before? Was this… a person? Was a person really here? Did other people really exist? But… if she looked the same, Hanamaru couldn’t help but wonder, was she a person too? 

Yoshiko felt intimidated by Hanamaru’s heavy gaze. Their eyes were locked against each other as the skies cleared up and all the red was overtaken by a bright cape of clear blue. 

Slowly, Yoshiko’s body moved. She picked up the red apple which had fallen to the ground and extended her arm towards the girl’s. She had no words to express herself with, she didn’t know how to express herself. 

It was the first time in both of their lives that they got to experience what it was like to interact with someone. It was the first time in both of their lives than that absolute solitude had been broken. 

Growing more and more curious about the girl who had suddenly appeared before her, Hanamaru jumped down from the tree. Despite how fragile her body looked like, it was as if she was already all too used to everything in this vast field. 

Even though she jumped from a large height, she descended into the ground gracefully. Yoshiko could have sworn that she was imagining it, but the moment Hanamaru landed, she could feel a cold wind running around her feet. It was as if she had landed easily thanks to wings sprouting out of her back.

But once her feet were on the solid ground, Hanamaru took a step closer. She moved closer and closer while still looking at the girl who held an apple in her hands. 

“For me?” 

Yoshiko answered by repeatedly nodding. 

Standing millimeters away, Hanamaru took the apple in her hands. But the moment she did, for only an instant her fingers gently touched the fallen angel and both were stung with a sudden piercing pain in their hands. 

As both jumped up startled, the apple flew across the air, falling far away from them. 

What was this pain?

The two simply stared at their own hands in shock. It almost felt like being pierced by a needle or an electric shock. The pain went away as sudden as it had started but… a strange, pulsating feeling remained in their hands. 

Was this normal? 

They couldn’t help but wonder. It was easy for them to tell both were in pain but they didn’t know what caused it. They couldn’t tell if this was normal whenever two people are present. They couldn’t tell if it was the apple’s fault. They couldn’t tell if it was their own fault. 

But to Yoshiko’s surprise, even though she was busy worrying about her own pain, even though it didn’t cross her mind.

“Are you okay?”

Hanamaru’s mind wasn’t focused on herself at all. She was completely ignoring what she felt. She wasn’t even scared about the sensation she had experienced. Instead, her attention was driven towards worrying about the other girl, towards worrying about someone she hadn’t even met before. 

“I’m fine.”

☆

“Ah. That’s where it all went wrong.”

As she saw all these images, the current Yohane came to a realization. Looking back on it, looking back at what was happening now, she felt regret. Even though she knew it was okay because she didn’t know better back then, she still felt regret. 

What she should have answered wasn’t: “I’m fine.” What she should have answered was “what about you?”

Even though it felt like something so basic, even though it felt like something so simple, she didn’t know better. 

To Yohane being able to express some things was a given. If you fall over and get hurt, it was a given to say “it hurts.” If you end up burning yourself, it was a given to say “it hurts.” If your heart ended up broken, it was a given to say “it hurts.” 

She thought it was normal, she thought anyone would be like this. After all, why would someone hide their pain? What good would that make? If something hurts then say it. 

But assuming that had been a mistake. Assuming that everyone reacted the same had been a mistake. Assuming everyone would worry about themselves first had been a mistake. 

After all, the person who defied her expectations was right before her. After all, the person who never expressed herself was right before her. After all, the person who always made sure she was okay while ignoring her own pain was right before her.

From start to end, they had been the complete opposite.

They were existences that should never meet. 

They were concepts that should never co-exist. 

While Yohane was selfish, Hanamaru was selfless. 

While Yohane was rash, Hanamaru was calm and methodic. 

While Yohane was a demon, Hanamaru was…

☆

It was an scenery she could never forget. It had all taken place back at that lonely garden. No, ever since that day, the garden wasn’t lonely anymore. It was full of life. It radiated with the energy of a new connection.

Even while looking for fruits or just exploring the garden, the two girls walked together hand in hand. The two had sworn to never let the other go. They didn’t have to worry, they wouldn’t be lonely anymore.

With the daylight coming to an end, that day, the two of them walked across the garden at night. If they were together, there was nothing that could scare them anymore. 

“Name?” Hanamaru asked a sudden question. 

Even after spending time together for quite some time, it wasn’t a question that neither of them had brought up. It wasn’t a concept that neither were familiar with. But if they were to be asked about it, just like being able to speak or walk, it was information that was still inside their head.

“Yo…shiko?” The blue bun girl tilted her head.

“Yo…hane!!” Hanamaru spoke cheerfully while pointing towards the feather that rested on the girl’s head.

“Yo…hane?” 

“Yohane!! See? Your hair is pretty and dark light the night and that feather is soft and colorful like you, zura!!”

“Colorful?” 

She couldn’t understand Hanamaru’s train of thought at all. What was colorful about a black feather? What was pretty about her? She couldn’t understand what it meant at all. But even though she couldn’t, something inside her felt warm. It was something she hadn’t experienced ever before in her life.

But then, once that day had come to an end, nothing was the same again. After saying goodbye and promising to meet again the next day, Yohane realized something. 

She had been trying to ignore it at first, she thought it was just her imagination, but the sensation in her hand was just like the day they met. No, this time it was much stronger. It felt like something was burning apart her hand. After parting ways with Hanamaru she was assaulted by absolute pain that made her fall to the ground and crawl while holding back the urge to scream. 

Once the pain subsided, she stared at her hand. Most of her skin had been completely melted down. She was met with a gross and terrifying image that came out from her own body. 

What was this? What was happening? Why did this hurt so much? Why did that happen? 

But then… it hit her. But then, she realized. That was the hand that had been holding Hanamaru’s hand all day. That day, when both were stung with pain, she didn’t pay attention. She was too focused on her own pain to properly acknowledge it had hurt for Hanamaru as well. But… what about this time? 

Once the next morning came, all of her fears had been confirmed. 

After knocking on the door of that old cottage, Hanamaru received her with a smile. It was the same as always, but this time, she was finally paying attention. Her sight was immediately driven towards Hanamaru’s hand which had been wrapped up with a white cloth. But no matter how much Hanamaru had tried to hide it, it hadn’t worked. 

As Hanamaru walked inside the house, tiny droplets of dark red fell in a trail behind her. They had all dripped down from the cloth around her hand. Yohane didn’t need to confirm, she didn’t need to see, she didn’t even want to see. 

But then… was this all her fault? 

Was she hurting her simply by being around? Was she dangerous simply because she existed?

As all these fears began to overtake her, the next day, Yohane didn’t show up anymore. The next day, she never appeared at Hanamaru’s door. 

All she could do was to look from afar, because she didn’t want to see her in pain, because she didn’t want to hurt her any more than this. 

Even as days passed by, even as that girl desperately tried to look for her, even as she called her name at the top of her lungs, Yohane didn’t have the courage to show up. 

Every single day, every single morning, she would stand at the front of her door. But then, she would never have the courage to knock on it again. 

Until one day, something had changed again. 

One day, Yohane had seen someone else enter the garden. It was a red haired girl who seemed lost. All she could do was to stare at her from afar, all she could do was to continue hiding. But then, that girl had gone inside the cottage. That girl had entered the place she had been so afraid to visit again. 

Yohane didn’t know why, but this made her afraid. This completely terrified her. She didn’t understand what this feeling was. Her mind couldn’t comprehend what was happening, but something inside her was screaming at her to do something. Do something, do something, do something. 

But what… can she do? How could she do anything after hiding like this all this time? After letting that girl suffer in her solitude. 

And yet, the pressure in her heart only became bigger. Do something, do something, do something, do something. 

Until the voice of that girl echoed in her head one more time. 

“Yohane!”

She could hear her cheerful voice full of life. And yet, she could also hear all those times she cried inside that old cottage. All those times she didn’t have the courage to do anything but to hide outside and listen. 

It was as if something had snapped deep inside her. So she ran, her body ran and dashed towards that cottage. She didn’t know what she was doing, she didn’t know why she was doing it. 

But once she arrived, she could hear something. It was laughing voices. After pressing her head against the door, she could hear voices inside with clarity. She was still there, she was there with the other girl who had entered the garden. Hearing her voice, hearing her talk like that with someone else, it scared her and she ran away.

But, still desperate, Yohane returned that night. In the end, she knocked on the door several times but there was no response. Later, she ran towards the back of the old cottage. She climbed towards one of the windows and forced her way inside. 

What now? What should she do now? Nervously, she decided to act natural. She decided to play it off as if nothing. 

But in the end, it was already too late. In the end, she had been left alone.

☆

As all of her frustration rushed back into her head, for just a second, Yohane managed to regain control of her body.

After all these feelings came rushing back into her, even knowing that Anju was around, even knowing the kind of danger she was in, even knowing there was something scary inside her, it meant nothing. It didn’t matter if her body was tired, it didn’t matter if the pressure of this place was killing her, it didn’t matter if she broke apart into little pieces. 

The fallen angel launched herself upwards. 

As she did, the imperial guards rapidly noticed her presence approaching. But even if they knew Yohane was supposed to be their ally, the expression of anger in her face and the intimidating energy that radiated out of her, it alerted the guards that there was danger incoming.

“Hawawa, Yuri, that’s-!” “?!” 

But they weren’t able to react in time. As Yohane landed in the platform where the combat was breaking apart, everyone was forced away into the edges by an incredible wind pressure. 

The imperial guards weren’t able to do anything but to stare at Yohane’s cape as it fluttered across the air. 

“You two, fall back.” Yohane spoke with a deep and serious voice.

“You can’t face all those soldiers on your own!!” Yuri tried to warn her but her words were completely ignored. 

An expression of fury appeared in Yohane’s face as she cracked her fingers. Faint lights of all colors appeared at her back. Even though they were just flickering, it was enough for everyone to feel her absolute power. 

The A-RISE soldiers however, all continued to charge towards her. They believed on their advantage in overwhelming numbers. But the moment they took a step forward, at least half of them were blown away by powerful black lightning. 

The sound of thunder echoed across the void as Yohane took another step forward. 

“I am in a bad mood, so I won’t have mercy with anyone who gets in my way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really really sorry for updating so late this time around. Some things came up but here it is!!
> 
> Just for a little context. The name "Yohane" to my knowledge is usually written in katakana, but if you were to write it in Kanji you could also do it like 夜羽. The first character (夜) being "night" and the second one being (羽) "feather." So you could say that scene was just a play of words with that!
> 
> After the update from last week, I've updated the tags accordingly so bonus points to anyone who can tell what it is. 
> 
> We've also reached 4k hits so that means we unlocked another side-story!! 
> 
> ☆
> 
> ☆ If you want to keep track of me or just talk, I'm always on twitter [@YukiSetsuna](https://twitter.com/YukiSetsuna)
> 
> ☆ And if you like my work, please check out my original story: [Scarlet Finale!](https://www.honeyfeed.fm/u/1283)


	43. Luminous Advent - Part 3

With weapons in hand, multiple soldiers all charged towards Yohane. 

Realizing how bad the situation was, the imperial guards did not retaliate. Instead, Yuri picked up Coco, holding her by her waist.

“Yuri?!!”

But the silent guard did not give her an answer. Tightening her grasp, she simply jumped down into the platform below them. Even though she couldn’t tell what was going to happen for sure, her senses had warned her to escape immediately. 

As this happened, the fallen angel took another step forward. 

What broke out next couldn’t be called a fight anymore. It was a one-sided slaughter. 

From the center of the platform, a pillar of fire erupted with raging force. The black flames spread to the edges while swirling and in seconds, many of the soldiers were thrown away into the void while their bodies were all covered in burning hellfire. 

However, the soldiers that had fallen might have been the ones that had the most luck. 

Before one of them could even react, Yohane was already drawing in closer and closer. With one swift movement, the fallen angel got a hold of their face. As colorful lights continued to flicker at her back, Yohane hurled the soldier into the air, sending them flying with a powerful wind strike. 

At this point, many of the soldiers were rapidly losing their will to fight. Not only had their advantage in numbers been completely broken apart, but they couldn’t do so much as to defend themselves. The few that still remained rushed towards the platform in order to jump off and escape but a wall of water blocked their exit. 

As Yohane glared at her enemies, her entire body had faintly started to become surrounded by a faint smoke-like energy. Clenching her hand into a fist, she released a powerful strike that forced the very ground sustaining the platform to tremble as earth magic erupted, blasting apart all of her remaining enemies. 

The single opponent that still remained on top of the platform screamed for help as they stared at Yohane with a horrified expression. Even now, the fallen angel showed no intention to stop. At the contrary, she rushed towards her opponent ready to release all of her pent up frustration in the next attack.

But then, all the flames that had surrounded the scene were frozen solid in an instant.

“Is that…?” Yuri who was watching the scene from a platform below muttered under her breath.

Despite her magic exploding and spreading around, despite the definite strike she was ready to release, Yohane’s assault came to an end. 

Her fist had been stopped in midair and all of her magic had been dispelled. The smoke surrounding her body was gone and the flickering lights at her back were nowhere to be seen anymore. 

“It’s okay now.”

A sweet voice reached Yohane’s ears. The moment she raised her head to look at the person standing before her, Yohane was able to notice the serene image of the long haired blonde. 

Answering to her expression of confusion, Alisa simply replied with a smile. At the moment, she was standing right in front of Yohane. The fallen angel’s devastating attack had been stopped by her.

The long haired blonde held Yohane’s fist in her palm. The moment their hands entered in contact, Yohane felt a peaceful sensation washing over her for only an instant. Was this all it took to dispel her magic as well? Looking around her confused, Yohane was able to notice something else. Paper seals with magical inscriptions on them floated in midair while surrounding them. Moments later, they gently fell to the floor, blending in with the colorful flower petals that decorated this world. 

After a few seconds, the fallen angel was finally able to react. She awkwardly stepped back while letting go of Alisa’s hand. For some reason, she wasn’t able to look at her in the eyes. Instead, she walked past her while muttering under her breath.

“I have to go.”

“I don’t think so.” Alisa’s response sounded like a heavy command despite her sweet and relaxed voice. “We don’t have the time to explore, we have to prioritize regrouping.” 

“I have to go.” Yohane repeated once again, this time with a louder voice. 

Alisa was unsure on how to respond. She brought a hand to her cheek while staring at the girl who continued to timidly stare at the ground. However, the silence was broken in just a moment. 

To her surprise, Yohane raised her head and glared directly into her eyes. 

“I have to save her!” 

“Understood.” Alisa’s response was immediate. She gave Yohane a reassuring nod and then turned her back on her. “Please go.” 

“?” 

The fallen angel could easily tell that Alisa’s reaction just now had been strange. She was fully expecting for her to try to argue with her or try to stop her. She couldn’t understand why, but it felt like there was more to it. It felt like something had resounded inside the imperial commander beyond anything she could just guess. But it didn’t matter. It wasn’t the time to focus on that, after all she had to get going; there was no time to lose. 

Giving one last glance at the commander’s back, Yohane rushed away from the frozen platform and continued towards her destination. 

With the fallen angel far ahead, Alisa jumped down to where Yuri and Coco were. 

“So this is where you were.” Alisa greeted them with a smile, completely ignoring the confrontation that took place here.

“Alisa!!” The long twin-tail girl ran towards her, clinging tightly against her. “What is happening?! This place is so scary!!”

“Coco.” Yuri gave her a pat in the head. “We are in front of the commander; you can’t act like this you know.”

“I know but!!”

“Hehe, I don’t mind.” Alisa gave Coco a pat on the back and then looked at Yuri. “I’m afraid I don’t know what this place is either, but I’m glad to see you are okay.”

“Just barely.” Yuri sighed. “What do we do now?”

“Hm.” 

Alisa was lost in thought. Of course, going back to Yukiho and regrouping was the best option, but… there was something bothering her. Something she couldn’t take her thoughts away from.

_“I have to save her.”_

Those words, the expression on that girl’s face... was it the same expression she had back then?

At that moment, a clear image entered Alisa’s mind. A sealed away memory came rushing towards her.

Where did it take place? She couldn’t tell for sure. All she could remember is that it happened late on a stormy night.  
As the cold rain covered her body, someone else was standing there. The person who stood in front of her was a figure she couldn’t reach. A girl with neck length brown hair tied into a long side-tail stood before her. Alisa’s desperate image was reflected on her clear blue eyes. 

On that day, what was the expression of the girl who looked at her? What was her response to her cries for help? She couldn’t remember. But even then… there was something that was still fresh in her mind.

“I have to save her!” 

It was the same words. At that time, they had come out of her own mouth. It was the same desperate and decisive words. She could still feel the distress and pain in her heart even now.

But that’s exactly why, looking at the expression on Yohane’s face, there was no way that she could stop her. She wouldn’t allow herself to. But… then… what was this bad feeling? 

Even though she wasn’t easily scared, even though at the moment she thought her choice was the correct one, what was this pressure in her chest?

“Alisa?” Yuri tilted her head while looking at the girl who stared into the void with a blank expression.

“Okay!” Alisa responded cheerfully as if she suddenly came back. “Regroup with Yukiho and provide her with any support she may need, let her know there is something else I have to do.” 

“Something else?” Coco stared at her with a confused expression.

“With that said! I’ll be counting on you!!” 

Ignoring the confusion of the imperial guards, Alisa walked away, jumping into the platforms above and rapidly moving away from their sight.

☆

“Does this place never end?”

Ruby complained after making it on top of yet another platform. She had forced her way quite a bit but no matter how much she continued to ascend it didn’t feel like she was making any progress at all. The only difference she was able to notice was that the density of the falling petals had increased. 

Not only had most of the petals piled up on top of the platforms so much that you could barely see the floor anymore, but the higher up she went the more petals she could see falling. Normally, even with so many petals, moving around shouldn’t be a problem. However this was making things way more difficult for Ruby. 

On one hand it was making it hard to access the platforms in order to activate her alchemy, but on the other hand they were all charged with heavy emotions that were rapidly overwhelming her. 

“Maru…” 

The red haired girl stopped for a moment but then she shook her head and nodded. This wasn’t the time to stop and get lost in thought, she had to keep going. 

After moving to the next platform not much changed but…

“?!” 

No, taking a closer look there was someone here. Ruby rushed towards the collapsed figure who was almost buried under the flower petals. 

After spreading away some of the flowers and pulling them out, Ruby was able to notice it was a girl with orange hair and two braids. It was the same person who had walked in to warn Yukiho right before this happened. 

“Are you okay…?”  
Ruby tried to call out to her but there was no response. The girl didn’t seem to be in a good state whatsoever. Even though it looked like the bleeding already stopped, a lot of blood had run down from her forehead and covered most of her body. Because of this, most of the flower petals that lied around her had become stained with red. 

“P-Pigi!! What should Ruby do?!” 

The young alchemist panicked. She had to hurry and keep going but she couldn’t ignore this person either. As an alchemist, Ruby could easily perceive life force and it was more than clear than this person’s life was rapidly fading away. There was no time to call for help either. 

If only Hanamaru was here, she could easily heal her right away. Ruby didn’t have that much knowledge on healing magic but there was something that she had come to learn over time. Healing magic was the most complex kind of magic there was. 

Using magic to injure others was extremely easy. Releasing power to make damage wasn’t difficult at all, on the other hand, releasing power to restore someone required a complex process and a deep understanding of magic. 

What now? There was no way for Ruby to use healing magic, she couldn’t even use simple magic as it was. But she couldn’t give up either. Choosing the option where there is nothing she could do wasn’t an option. 

Desperate, Ruby placed the girl on the cold floor and swiped away most of the petals with her hand. Reaching for another flower, Ruby activated her alchemy and turned into a piece of white chalk. If healing magic wasn’t an option, then she had to improvise. 

Ruby began to draw a circle on the ground. Her fingers moved at a skillful and fast pace as she drew another circle inside it and began to decorate it with complex triangles and figures all around. 

After all, alchemy was the power of creation. Then, if this person’s life was fading away all she had to do was to create more life force. In the end, maybe that was also the base for healing magic. To anyone else, the claim that a mere human could create life might have been ridiculous, they would say that it was something only a god could do. But this is also why alchemy was feared, this is also why it was dangerous. Because attaining the power of alchemy wasn’t all that different from attaining the power of god. 

Even so, creating life wasn’t something that any alchemist would have knowledge of. It was something that went much deeper into that world, something that not even her sister knew anything about. But Ruby knew. She had her own reasons for looking deeper into this. It wasn’t something she thought she was ready to experiment with just yet, but she had no choice. 

Once she was done drawing the circle on the floor with many complex alchemy runes inside, Ruby pressed both of her hands against it. The platform where she stood was immediately engulfed by a powerful golden light and a strange distorted noise resounded. 

Once the light dissipated Ruby fell to the ground all out of breath. What she had done wasn’t anything small at all. 

She may have taken a step into a forbidden world. 

She might have opened a door that should never be opened. 

And she had succeeded. 

The wound on the girl’s forehead was completely sealed. Her entire body looked revitalized and even her clothes looked brand new. 

Seconds later, she opened her eyes. Once she did, Kasane remained still for a few seconds before jumping up startled. 

“W-What… where am I?!” She sat up and looked at the bizarre environment that enveloped her. However, then she looked at the girl who lied on the ground while gasping for air. “Are you okay?!”

“R…Ruby is fine.” The red pigtail girl struggled to stand up again, but she kneeled down unable to hold her balance. “Ruby has to get going.” 

“You aren’t doing fine at all!!” 

“Ruby is fine.” She replied once more, this time finally standing up. “Please stay here and be careful.”

“Did this happen because of A-RISE?” Kasane still had trouble comprehending the world around her. 

However Ruby simply shook her head slowly. 

“Ruby doesn’t know.”

Even though she knew nothing about this girl, looking at the state Ruby was in deeply concerned Kasane. She had a blank look in her eyes and she could barely keep herself standing. She felt like it would be wrong to just let her go like this but at the same time… the tone of her voice, there was something there, something that told her there was no use trying to stop her. 

Without saying another word, Ruby turned her back on the twin-braided girl, walking towards the edge of the platform in order to continue.

“Wait!” Kasane called out to her one last time. “Before you go… there is something I have to tell you.”

“?”

“I didn’t realize it before… no. I couldn’t realize it before no matter how much I wanted to. The reason they were able to find us. It’s not only me, but all those other A-RISE soldiers. We were under Erena’s mental control. I don’t know how to explain this but… whatever you did may have broken that in me. However, her power is scary. She had access to all of my thoughts and she might have been able to access others through me. Please be careful, as long as others under her control are around, it is the same as if she were here.”

“So that’s it, huh?” A new voice reached them. 

The auburn haired girl jumped into the platform while followed by two other girls. Yukiho had managed to arrive just in time to receive this important information. 

“In other words this worsens our situation, it’s almost like we are dealing with two A-RISE members at the same time.” 

But while Yukiho stopped to analyze the situation.

“Ruby!!” “Ruby?!” 

Kanan and Ria rushed towards the red pigtail girl. Ria was quick to hold her shoulders and help her stand up properly while Kanan just stared at her in concern.

“What happened?!” Kanan raised her voice. “Are you okay?!”

“Sorry.” Ruby responded with a faint tone. “Ruby has to go.”

“Huh? Where are you going?”

Ria questioned her but Ruby couldn’t even look up to them. She didn’t even give them a direct answer. Instead, she answered by muttering with a faint voice, as if talking to herself.

“Ruby really has to go. Ruby can’t abandon her.” 

“Wait a moment.” Yukiho who finally caught up looked away from Kasane and moved her attention towards Ruby. “I can’t let you go anywhere.”

But Ruby ignored her words. Clenching her fists, she slammed her hand against the floor and activated her alchemy to shoot herself into the platform above.

Yukiho frowned and reacted immediately to go after her and stop her, but…

“Please let her go!” 

The one who stopped Yukiho was Kanan. The blue ponytail girl held tightly unto the imperial commander to stop her from going.

“I don’t understand what is happening but… I’m sure Ruby has a reason! After all, after all, that expression, those words, they were the same! It was the same back then!! I’m sorry but I can’t let you stop her!!”

“I understand your reasoning but I still can’t just allow her to go in that condition!!”

“Please!!”

Ria felt distressed by looking at the scene before her. She didn’t understand Kanan’s sudden change in attitude but she seemed to be deeply affected by this. On the other hand, letting Ruby go just like that… there was no way she could do that. 

“Tch. What are you doing?!” Ria complained and ran after Ruby with all her might.

☆

“This is the worst!!” Chika scratched her head. “There is no end to this place!!”

“I don’t even want to keep exploring.” Riko sighed. “That falling sensation when we jump is horrible. It doesn’t even make sense!!”

“Hehe, really?” You scratched her head. “I thought it was kind of fun.”

“How is it fun?!” The other two retorted at the same time. 

Deciding to take a break, the three sat down on a bench over a larger platform. It seemed like was a big chunk of the imperial garden as it was big enough for them to walk around for a while.

“Do you think everyone else is really okay?” Riko wondered out loud. 

“They are totally okay!!” Chika reassured her immediately. “Look at how big this place is, they are probably lost somewhere too!!”

But as the three girls continued to talk, someone else watched from close by. Standing behind a tree a few steps behind the bench, a young girl with brown pigtails stared cautiously. 

Haruka, one of the imperial guards had gone lost and was stranded on her own. For a moment she was glad that other people had come by but she was hoping to meet Coco or even Yukiho, she didn’t know how to feel about being stranded with some strangers. 

Even so… the stress of standing in the middle of a broken world was too much. Taking a deep breath, she decided to approach the girls. 

“Um… excuse me.” She spoke with an awkward tone. 

The girls immediately went silent and turned around startled to stare at her. Having their eyes looking at her so intently was putting her under a lot of pressure, but the silence was quickly broken by the orange haired girl.

“Hey! We found someone!!”

“You are with the imperial guards, correct?” Riko could recognize the uniform easily. 

On the other hand, the one who had approached her even closer was the young captain. Haruka let out a startled squeal the moment You placed her hands on her shoulders. 

“That uniform…” You’s eyes were sparkling. “You need to help me get one of these!!”

“Eh?!” 

“The uniform is simply fantastic! The design, the color, this texture!! I want it!!”

“Y-You…?” Riko stared at the gray haired girl shocked. Seeing her act like this was such a rare sight. 

“That’s no good!!” Chika scolded her. “It’s the uniform for the imperial guards you know! The one Eli used to command!! You need to join them first!!”

“I’ll join them!!” You replied immediately while making a salute.

“Eh?!” Riko jumped up startled. “I don’t think that’s a decision you should make just like that!!”

Haruka had started to become impatient. Rather than being startled by this girls, their chatter had started to annoy her. She continued to tap her foot against the floor before finally snapping. 

“This isn’t the time for this!!” 

They all went silent in an instant.

“You are all like my sister! Geez, I have no choice. Guess I’ll have to look after you too!!”

“Your sister? Do you have a little sister? Such a dependable big sis!” Chika praised her and gave her a pat on the head but that only seemed to anger Haruka more.

“I-I’m not a big sister!!” She pouted. “I always have to look after my big sis, Kanata!” 

“Eh…?” The moment she heard this, You felt like something clicked inside her.

“And now this happened on the day I was supposed to meet her. Oh well, it’s fine. I guess she’s busy sleeping somewhere.” 

“Maybe she’s around here somewhere!” Chika suggested. “Let’s look for her!”

“…” 

You couldn’t even find words to try and stop Chika. She couldn’t even find words to say anything at all. It felt like all the sound around her was being drowned by her thoughts. The moment the situation clicked inside her head it felt like her whole world came crashing down.

☆

“Hmph. And now the other girl left as well, this was such an irresponsible choice.” Yukiho complained.

Kanan simply crossed her arms and looked away, she really didn’t want to be here right now. On the other hand Kasane had no choice but to stand there and awkwardly experience the tense atmosphere. 

However…

“?!” 

Yukiho suddenly let out a gasp and tightly held her chest with her hand.

“What happened?!” Kanan got startled as well. 

Yukiho remained silent for a few moments. Then, she shook her head and gave an answer while speaking with a faint tone.

“I just had a really bad feeling.”

☆

The more Yohane ascended the more nervous she became. After all, she was going in the same direction as one of her most dangerous opponents. She was really focused on trying to save Hanamaru, but if it came down to it she had no real plan.

“Hm~?” And yet, the voice she feared the most approached her out of nowhere. “Are you following me? Did you want to see me so badly?”

Yohane’s eyes opened wide and she jumped back, almost falling off the edge of the platform. It was just like last time. The way this person could approach others, the way she moved, it defied all logic. And now, she was standing right before her. It had happened so suddenly Yohane had trouble catching up with the situation, deep inside she wished it was all a bad joke.

“Move.” That was the only answer the fallen angel could give her.

“Aw, that’s not really nice. I even came all the way to here to meet you.”

“If you don’t move then…” 

Yohane clenched her fist. This wasn’t the time to hold back at all. It didn’t matter if she wasn’t strong enough to fight back. She just had to create an opening. She had just had to make a chance and get away. She didn’t have the time to be scared, she didn’t have the time to hesitate. 

Black flames started to swirl at the fallen angel’s feet as colored lights began flickering at her back. She would hit her opponent with everything she got. 

But things wouldn’t go as planned. 

“You don’t have the time to be doing this.” 

A sweet voice reached her ears.

In that moment, the girl with long blonde hair jumped in front of Yohane. 

“You have someone to save, don’t you? In that case, go. I will take care of this.”

Even though she wasn’t content with just accepting this, Yohane also felt relief. Without hesitation she jumped away and continued moving upwards into her path. Anju did not bother to follow Yohane. Instead, her eyes were locked on the person who now stood before her. 

_“No matter what happens, don’t fight any of the A-RISE members alone. If you ever find yourself in that situation, you have to retreat immediately.”_ Yukiho’s voice resounded inside her head.

“I’m sorry, Yukiho. But I can’t afford to retreat.” 

“How fantastic, it’s an imperial commander! I’m sure we’ll have a lot of fun together! I will make sure to take my time and enjoy this. It will be your final confrontation after all!”

“You are more interesting than I thought!” Alisa’s hand reached for the hilt of her sword. The temperature rapidly dropped as she drew her weapon. Cold sweat rolled down her forehead as Anju’s malicious smile reflected on her eyes. “I won’t hold back!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ☆
> 
> ☆ If you want to keep track of me or just talk, I'm always on twitter [@YukiSetsuna](https://twitter.com/YukiSetsuna)
> 
> ☆ And if you like my work, please check out my original story: [Scarlet Finale!](https://www.honeyfeed.fm/u/1283)


	44. Luminous Advent - Part 4

Two figures intently stared at each other. An inevitable confrontation had started, but even then, neither of them took a single step forward. The two held their breath, examining their opponent, anticipating what their first move would be. 

Alisa’s grip on the hilt of her blade only became tighter. She knew she was in danger, she knew how much she was putting on the line, but she couldn’t help but to feel excited. After all, she was facing one of the top members of A-RISE. She was facing someone who may have enough power to defeat her before she even made a move at all. 

Had Yukiho been here, she knew she would have been scolded. After all, even before this, Yukiho had tried to warn her. 

_“No matter what happens, don’t fight any of the A-RISE members alone. If you ever find yourself in that situation, you have to retreat immediately.”_

This wasn’t something that Yukiho had said because she was intimidated by A-RISE. As the commander of the imperial guards- no, Alisa knew it was more than that. As Yukiho herself, she was someone that liked to think of all the different possibilities ahead of her. It had been like this from the very start, becoming the commander had only made her strengthen this ability. She was someone that didn’t like taking action unless she had absolute certainty of what all the outcomes were. 

After meeting with the princess and her group, she had learned about their confrontation with Anju. She had learned about the near death experiences those girls had experienced. She had seen into every little detail of that scenario and then she had explored all the possibilities were they to come face to face with someone like that. 

Even through the endless possibilities in Yukiho’s head, she wasn’t able to see a single outcome where they had managed to survive unscathed. Not even if they were to fight together or with a larger group. After all, even after coming in direct contact with her, not even the princess had been able to assess how her abilities worked. 

The information they had was too little and the price they had to pay for more could be too big. 

Of course, even after learning that, Alisa wasn’t particularly scared. If there was something that she valued with high regard, it was to be able to feel and experience new things beyond her imagination. Whenever she did, she truly felt like she was alive. But of course, even then, she wouldn’t betray Yukiho just like that. 

The reason she was here at this moment in this situation was because there was something important she wanted to protect. She would not allow herself to make the same mistake twice. Even if it meant putting everything on the line, she wouldn’t forgive herself if she didn’t step in here. 

That is why, there was no reason for her to worry about what she should or shouldn’t do anymore. There was no reason for her to worry about what she could or couldn’t have done anymore. If she was to experience this, all she could do was to experience it to the fullest. 

If every single possibility pointed to her demise, her only option was to create a new path with her own hands.

And just like that, having strengthened her resolve even more, she finally took the first step forward. There was no room to hesitate; all she could do was to act.

Alisa’s body shot forward at an immense speed as she swung her blade towards the air. She had moved so fast that the regular human eye wouldn’t be able to process what they witnessed. 

But even then, her attack didn’t connect. Instead, she suddenly found herself falling down into the platform below. It was as if her body had moved into an entirely different direction, avoiding Anju altogether and jumping off. 

Come to think of it, this is just like what the princess and the captain had described. When they tried to launch a direct attack on her they found themselves disoriented. But this is why, it’s not like she didn’t expect this to happen. 

After all, she warned Anju, didn’t she? That she wouldn’t hold back. 

The same instant Alisa’s body left the platform, a burst of ice magic exploded from the spot where she had been standing. Countless waves of light blue light shot into all directions while covering an extensive range. 

Anju’s eyes widened in surprise. Before she could even process what happened her feet and half of her body had become all frozen solid together with the platform below her. 

It didn’t matter if Alisa’s was disoriented or what Anju’s abilities were. If she were to launch an attack “everywhere” then she would still be able to catch her opponent. 

But of course, she knew it wouldn’t be so simple. She had to keep at it while she had the chance, she couldn’t give her opponent a single second to react. 

The moment Alisa’s feet touched solid ground, she propelled herself upwards into a piece of land with flowing water. As a sign that her magic was still active, the water had become all frozen solid once she approached. Using the ice as a ground to stand, she then launched herself forward towards Anju while holding her weapon. 

This time, her attack wasn’t something as simple as a swing of her blade. Her entire body had been surrounded by light. If one were to look at it from afar all they would be able to see was a giant flash of light rushing towards Anju at an unbelievable speed. 

Everything that the light touched would instantly become frozen solid, thanks to that, the falling petals that surrounded the environment all became suspended in the air. It was beyond simply freezing something with ice; it was almost as if they had become frozen in time itself. 

Anju’s senses were all assaulted in many different ways. Not only was her body frozen in the spot, rendering her unable to move, but the approaching light had completely blinded her. She had come to realize that not even her lips would move to let her voice out. 

A powerful breaking noise resounded across the vast void. It had been so loud that it was possible everyone might have heard it no matter how dispersed or far away they were. 

At that moment, Alisa could tell. She could recognize the distinct sensation of her weapon hitting against something. She could recognize the distinct sensation of ice breaking apart, the sensation of landing a direct hit against her opponent. 

She had placed everything in that attack. 

But then the sound of metal falling against the floor reached her ears as her weapon broke apart into little pieces. 

“That was wonderful.” A voice reached her from behind. It was the distinct sweet and calm voice from her opponent. “To think that I was cornered like that, what a beautiful experience.”

“Of course.” Alisa muttered under her breath. 

Cold sweat rolled down the blonde’s forehead. Even though she knew that the possibility an opponent such as Anju would be able to survive that attack was high, it still got to her. Usually, Alisa’s attack was on such a big scale, that she couldn’t use it just like that. It was an attack designed to end her opponent’s life in one hit. On top of that, she had made sure to be cautious enough and stop all of Anju’s movements. She was absolutely certain that her attack had hit, she was certain she had inflicted fatal damage. 

So this made her properly realize what the biggest problem was. It wasn’t a matter of whether her attacks would connect or not. It was beyond that. Even if every single one of her attacks connected, this person had the ability to heal herself the instant she received damage. 

It was the same just now. The reason Anju was able to stand before her without so much as a single scratch is because she had healed herself. There was no other explanation that Alisa could think of. 

The blonde commander slowly turned around. She had been afraid to confirm it with her own eyes, but just as she expected, her opponent was completely unscathed. 

No matter how excited she might have been about this, fear was also a natural human reaction. Alisa could feel her breathing rapidly growing unsteady, but she wasn’t in a position where she could let that get the best of her. She had to act quickly, she had to do something. 

Unlike Yukiho, Alisa wasn’t confident on her ability to come up with good strategies. When it came to major confrontations Alisa would instead break her way through with force, but this wouldn’t work here. 

(Think, think, think, think.) 

She pressured herself. Even though Anju wasn’t saying anything, even though she was just standing there, staring at her, that was enough to put an incredible pressure on her. The fact that Anju wasn’t even bothering to fight back properly meant that she was just toying with her, she understood that much. 

If Yukiho was here, what would she do? What kind of strategy would she come up with? Maybe this time that was the answer, maybe this time she just had to try and think the same way as her and-

 _“May I assume that your turn is over now?”_ A voice whispered into her ear. 

Even though she had been standing in front of her just now, in the blink of an eye, Anju was already standing just behind her. Alisa could feel her body tensing up and chills going down her spine just by feeling how close her presence was.

The long haired blonde couldn’t do anything but to remain frozen in the spot as she felt the sensation of fingertips running across her back. A single wrong step could mean the end of her life. 

“I’ll tell you what.” Anju continued to whisper in a faint and sweet tone as her arms embraced the commander. “For being a good girl, I’ll show you the true extent of my power.” 

A loud blast resounded across the void space once again. 

“?!” 

But contrary to what she expected, Anju’s attack wasn’t able to connect.

“This is…?” 

Despite how close she was to her opponent a second ago, Alisa was nowhere to be found. The moment the A-RISE general looked at her hands she was able to notice something, there was blood. It was her own blood. 

“This is… alchemy?!” 

And then she was able to notice the reason for her blood. Many small blades had stabbed into her, covering all of her body. 

Alisa smiled to herself as she fell across the void. She had been careful to wait until the very last moment, she had been careful to make sure Anju would let her guard down. 

Once Anju was about to release her attack, Alisa slammed her feet against the platform where she stood. In an instant, golden light exploded, breaking apart part of the floor enough to let her fall away. At the same time, all the petals that had been suspended in the air before thanks to her ice magic were all transformed into little blades that then flew towards Anju.

Even against such an opponent, getting a reaction of surprise out of her like this one, it made Alisa feel satisfied. Being able to use magic and alchemy at the same time wasn’t only rare, it was said to be impossible. But she had broken those barriers for the sake of the person who was the most important to her.

It wasn’t common for there to be two imperial commanders. The only reason it was different this time, was because Yukiho and her complemented each other perfectly. Because Yukiho couldn’t generate magic on her own, she had worked hard in order to obtain enough power for the both of them. And even though Yukiho was well known for her perfect and outstanding strategies, Alisa was well known for being the last line of defense of the imperial guards. 

There was no way she could let herself go down this easily. There was no way she could let it end like this. 

“Wonderful.” Anju laughed to herself. The blades covering her body had all fallen to the ground and as expected, she was now fully healed once more. “You are truly wonderful!!”

But something had changed. Even though Anju had always kept a pleasant and calm aura even in combat, even as she fell down in the distance, Alisa could feel heavy hostility coming from her. 

At this rate, her best option might be to escape. Even though she didn’t know how big this place was and even though she didn’t know for how long she would fall, descending across the vast void like this was her best option. The moment she couldn’t see Anju’s figure anymore she felt relief.

But that relief wouldn’t last beyond a second.

With a wide smile, Anju propelled herself and shot forward towards Alisa at full speed. The blonde shuddered once she saw the image of Anju approaching faster and faster like a projectile.

“Where do you think you are going?! You weren’t planning on leaving me, were you?!” 

Escaping like this wasn’t an option anymore, it would be a matter of seconds before Anju would reach her and at that point there was no telling what could happen. Even though falling like this was now placing her at a disadvantage, Alisa was ready to use all the resources she could. 

Light blue magic shot out of her hand but it was instantly surrounded by a spark of golden light. Her very ice magic had taken the shape of a long and sharp Japanese blade. Using alchemy to turn one of the falling petals into a solid stone, Alisa used that to launch herself forward. She wouldn’t wait for her enemy to catch up with her; she would counter attack with everything she got. 

But this is when she was able to realize something. She had been so focused on Anju that she failed to notice how the A-RISE general had already launched her attack. 

It was something so simple and easy to miss. After all the very petals she had used to rely on were surrounded by light. Because of that, seeing falling lights in the midst of this vast void wasn’t that surprising. But it wasn’t until she was close enough that she saw even more, multiple falling sparkles of light that had blended in with the background. 

As she ascended towards Anju, the falling lights surrounded her and began spinning around her before launching against her. She had to take a split second decision, to defend against that attack or to defend against Anju herself. 

Biting her lip, Alisa released a burst of ice magic that spread in all directions, similar to what she had done before. Focusing on launching an attack while releasing magic like that was almost impossible, but this wasn’t the time to choose between one or the other. She had to break through no matter what it took. 

As her ice magic froze the sparkles of light, she stabbed her blade forward, piercing Anju’s chest all the way through. 

“Didn’t I tell you?” Anju couldn’t contain the delight in her voice. “It was my turn now!”

Even after receiving such a direct strike, Anju’s momentum didn’t stop. Once she was finally able to reach Alisa, she held a tight grasp on her face with her hand and slammed her downwards into one of the platforms. 

Alisa could not even move a single finger; she had no option but to take in Anju’s assault as both continued descending. A direct impact hit Alisa’s back as the platform itself was broken apart. All she could hear was the sound of shattering stone and Anju’s laughter as both continued breaking through all the platforms downwards nonstop. And once the fall finally came to an end, Alisa’s vision was blurred out by a bright light that came from Anju’s palm. 

An immense explosion was released and all the surrounding platforms were then reduced to dust. 

At that moment, Alisa didn’t have any thoughts of fear, at that moment she didn’t complain about the pain either. There was only a single thought still in her mind. 

_“Yukiho, I’m sorry.”_

The light dissipated. 

Silence surrounded the scene of destruction. 

And then,

And then,

Anju’s body was sent flying far away, making her crash against the remains of the broken stone platforms. 

A figure surrounded by golden light stood on top of a single flower petal frozen in time. 

“Yukiho, I’m sorry.” She spoke once more. “I promised I wouldn’t use this again, but I have no choice.”

☆

Yohane clenched her fists as she continued advancing with all her might. Even after moving forward so much, the destructive noises from the confrontation that had broken out were still able to reach her.

What should she do? Should she turn back and help that person? No, she would just get in the way. The only reason Alisa had stepped in to help was to help her get this chance. She couldn’t let it slip away, she had to keep going. 

Looking at the platform where she stood now, it looked like the remaining fragments of a room. There was a tidy bed, but on top of the bed, there was a book. The moment she saw it her hands were instantly drawn towards it, it was a book she recognized all too well. 

She was slow to approach it, for some reason, she felt almost scared to touch it. It was the book that Hanamaru used in order to channel her magic. It may have been one of her most precious belongings. But there was more to it, Yohane recognized this book beyond just that. 

But even if a book was all that remained here, she still decided to take it with her. She would cling unto anything for as long as she could.

Even though it felt like there was no end to this place, even though it felt like her body was breaking apart, she could tell she was close. 

Something in her heart told her she was about to get there. But at the same time, something in her heart told her that she shouldn’t give a single step forward anymore. Once she did, there was no turning back. 

But that didn’t matter to her. 

There was no way she would back down after making it this far. There was no way she would escape because of being scared. No matter what waited for her and no matter what she had to go through, she would fight against everything. 

Answering the feelings in her heart, something had finally changed. After standing on the last platform, she had finally managed to reach the end of this world. What waited for her wasn’t this broken world anymore, it was something else. 

Yohane was standing before what looked like stairway of pure light that ascended into the heavens. Even though she didn’t know why, she knew that the girl she was looking for was here. She knew there was no other road to take. 

And so, she gave a step forward. But the moment she stepped over the light, her entire body was engulfed by a burning sensation. It was a sensation that she knew all too well. It was the same sensation she had felt on that day, the day her hand had been burnt out. It was as if the light itself was trying to consume her. 

But even then, she continued to step forward and then she ran with all her might.

☆

“Can you get me down from here already?!” Seira yelled while standing on top of the tree.

Even though the purple haired girl was still distressed, Mari seemed to have become drowsy by the energy in this place and had fallen asleep. 

Up until now, everything had remained the same. Even while in this bizarre location, there were no signs of anything changing. And yet, Seira was suddenly stung with a strange sensation. She was overtaken with a terribly bad feeling. It was something she couldn’t explain, it was almost familiar, as if some sort of energy had started to spread around. It was an energy that she recognized and yet, she couldn’t put her finger on what it was.

“Hey.” She decided to ask, even if it was just her imagination, she wanted to feel reassured. “Is everything okay down there?”

But instead, the black haired alchemist had gone silent.

“Dia?” Seira called out to her once more, but there was no response. 

Dia continued to stare towards the floor, without even facing her. She remained like this for a few seconds, but then, her hands started to move. They moved towards her pockets, pulling out a handful of precious gems. 

Seira didn’t know why, but the way she was moving, the way she wasn’t responding. This wasn’t good at all. There was something terribly wrong and she didn’t want to find out what it was.

The moment Dia raised her head once more, she glared at Seira with an angry expression. 

The purple haired girl was barely able to react as Dia hurled the gems, turning them into needles in midair that shot towards her at full speed. Being stuck on top of the tree was the least of her worries. With her magic still sealed thanks to Yukiho’s seal attached on top of her head, she had no option but to rely on her on physical strength. 

The moment she saw Dia’s projectiles coming forward, she picked up Mari and jumped off the tree, landing on a platform below the alchemist. 

Seira took a deep breath once she felt the impact on her legs, but she didn’t have the time to worry about that. After putting Mari down on the ground, she turned around to stare at Dia.

“What do you think you are doing?!”

“What? You don’t recognize me like this? It’s not the first time you’ve seen my mind control.” Even though the one speaking was Dia, it almost felt as though someone else was speaking through her. “Didn’t I tell you? Treason is unacceptable for A-RISE.” 

“E…Erena?” Seira’s voice trembled. 

It was true that she had witnessed her mind control before, but as far as she knew, she had to be present and make eye contact with the enemy first. Was she actually able to control people with such a huge distance in between? 

No, there was something else bothering her. The paper seal on top of her forehead had started to glow with a faint light. It was a scary thought but… was this protecting her from her mind control? But it went further than that. Up until now, Seira had started to become afraid of herself. She had found herself taking actions she wouldn’t usually take or going overboard. Up until now she theorized than that malice was the same that had been taking over Tsubasa. She had thought that it was starting to get to her as well. But what if… all this time… whenever that happened… was she being controlled by Erena without even realizing it? 

“So you do recognize me, huh?” Erena spoke through Dia once again. “Let’s get this taken care of so I can punish that sister of yours as well.”

“Don’t you dare lay a finger on Ria.” Despite the fear running in her body, Seira took a fighting stance. Even with her magic sealed, she was prepared to fight to her last breath. “Taking over an opponent I have already defeated once was a mistake.”

“It seems you have misunderstood.”

“?”

But before Seira could understand what her words meant, someone had grabbed her from behind. The blonde who had been sleeping just now had wrapped her arm around Seira’s neck with a lot of force. Using her other hand, she had locked in Seira’s right arm, preventing her from moving no matter how much she struggled.

Holding her blade in her hand, the black haired alchemist then jumped down and walked towards her. She smiled while still glaring at Seira, approaching her closer and closer. 

“The power of my network is beyond your imagination.”

☆

At that moment, Chika was suddenly knocked away by a sudden attack coming from the princess and the captain.

At that moment, Kanan and Yukiho had become surrounded by the imperial guards who pointed their weapons at them. 

At that moment, they would experience the true might of A-RISE’s power.

☆

Unknowingly of what was taking place, Ruby had finally arrived at the final platform: a small piece of land with nothing in it. There was no telling if this had been part of the imperial palace, of the garden or anywhere else. And yet, just above her, there was a large stairway of light.

Ruby knew than that’s where she had to go but… looking at it, it was too far away. Even though the way the platforms were spread across this world was random, it felt like there had been one missing in order to reach her destination. 

Even though she wasn’t confident, even though her energy was very low now, Ruby still slammed her hands against the floor, activating her alchemy. But her power ran out midway. The pillar of earth supporting her shattered apart and she started to fall.

“Hanamaru…” The red haired girl muttered under her breath. “Ruby is sorry.”

“What the hell are you doing?!” A voice reached her ears. 

Ruby felt the falling sensation coming to an end as something suddenly supported her back. It was Ria who had been following her all this time. She had jumped forward at the last moment, just high enough to reach Ruby. 

“You are the first person who has accepted me and you are the first person I truly feel like helping!” Ria yelled, moving all her force towards her arms. “So keep going forward, I don’t know what you are trying to do, but if you give up here I will never forgive you!!” 

With this, Ria used all her strength and hurled Ruby upwards with all her might. The red haired alchemist flew across the air and landed on top of the stairway of light with a loud thud. 

The moment she did, her immediate reaction was to turn around to look at the falling girl, but instead the first thing she saw was a small, yellow orb that flew in her direction. She was fast to catch it with her hands but… 

“Ria!? Ria!!” Ruby yelled towards the girl who continued to fall, rapidly going out of sight. 

“It’s the forest’s core, I’m entrusting you with it!! You better not fail me!!” The girl’s echoing voice reached Ruby’s ears before she had finally gone completely out of sight. 

Ruby held the stone tightly in her hand as she clenched her fist. She had finally made it this far. There was no way she would allow herself to fail anymore. She would find Hanamaru, she would face her feelings head on and she would put an end to this. 

Gathering all of her courage, Ruby rushed forward across the light. 

At the end of the path that led into the heavens, the two girls gave a step into the forbidden domain. 

**They had reached that which lied beyond the world.**

Even as the two stood side by the side, they did not say a word to each other. 

After all, their attention was driven somewhere else. 

At that moment, what stood before them was… 

“An angel.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the delay! 
> 
> In response to the comment about their eye colors. After looking into it, I've come to the conclusion that it's possible for different people to have different perceptions and even evidence. In the end I think personally to me Chika's eyes are pink and Yohane's eyes are violet. My biggest evidence for this might be the new game, Puchiguru! (Btw I love this game, you all should try it out!) that uses very basic colors for the Aqours chibis so it's easier to tell. However, if anyone else has different ways to view the actual colors I think that's totally valid and understandable. 
> 
> Also for anyone new here, one thing I like to do is to show my gratitude to everyone who comments regularly. I think it's a good time to do it again, so taking the comments into account since the last time I did it, it's time for the honorary mentions! 
> 
>  
> 
> **Special ☆ Thanks  
> **
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> Ritao  
> Chiba Yoshi  
> Traviera  
> Aethuran_KR  
> xswordeyesx12  
> Luna  
> nana_thyme  
> YohaRiko  
> lunaticbirb  
> Knighty  
> Tomato.  
> and @Sarohane on twitter!
> 
> I appreciate everyone's feedback, it keeps me going and making me want to give this story my best!  
> And to anyone who made it this far but has never commented, know that I appreciate you a lot as well. Knowing you are reading my work means a lot to me! 
> 
> ☆
> 
> ☆ If you want to keep track of me or just talk, I'm always on twitter [@YukiSetsuna](https://twitter.com/YukiSetsuna)
> 
> ☆ And if you like my work, please check out my original story: [Scarlet Finale!](https://www.honeyfeed.fm/u/1283) Any likes/comments there will be greatly appreciated!


	45. Beat in Angel - Part 1

All of their senses were assaulted by multiple sensations. They were sensations that they could not describe. It was something that no living human should be able to experience. It was something beyond the realm of what they had accepted as “reality.”

Their bodies were enveloped by clear skies that now surrounded them. And yet, a powerful aura beyond their very imagination flowed out of those familiar skies. The canvas around them was painted in many different colors, even colors that they could not recognize, colors that they had never seen before, colors that couldn’t be explained. 

The very path that had taken them to this realm was nowhere to be found anymore. 

It was as if they were standing in the middle of heaven. 

But even in the midst of that world, a powerful radiance at the center of it all immediately drew them in. 

It looked like a figure surrounded by blinding holy light. All they could see was their silhouette which seemed to be sitting on top of a throne. 

The radiant figure held a book in their hand, it was as if their attention was entirely focused towards it, but soon after two girls arrived, they closed the book which vanished into small particles of light. 

Ruby and Yohane couldn’t do anything. 

They couldn’t say anything. 

They couldn’t do anything. 

At that moment, their consciousness simply existed in that space. 

But that was enough, for the celestial being had taken notice of that. 

For they had slowly raised their head to look at what stood before them. 

Radiant golden eyes glanced at the world beyond them as the figure stood up. 

Six wings that where three times their size spread from their back.

What looked like three halos of light that stood up horizontally remained behind their head and slowly absorbed all of the radiance, dissipating the light that surrounded their figure. 

With this, both girls were able to get a clearer view of the presence that stood before them.

Their body was covered by a beautiful, long dress that was made by the very blue skies themselves. 

Even though they had the same face as Hanamaru, their height was much higher and their long chestnut hair fell all the way down to their feet. 

The expression in their face was a kind one. It was a presence that radiated with a comforting feeling. It was a presence that radiated absolute bliss. 

_“Ego sum miratus. Quid tibi hic?”_ Slowly, the holy angel brought a hand to her cheek and spoke with a perfectly clear and sweet voice. “I apologize; let me use words you will understand. I am surprised, why did you come here?”

At that moment, something changed. Despite only feeling their consciousness before, despite witnessing everything, the two girls who stood before the angel finally came back to their senses. They let out a gasp and clenched their fists. They could finally feel their physical bodies again. It was a strange sensation, almost like waking up, but there was more to it. 

“How peculiar. I never expected for a demon and a human who is playing god to be the ones to make it.” 

“An angel.” Was what the two girls let out at the same time, staring at the figure before them in awe.

 _“Be careful.”_ A voice spoke inside Yohane’s head. It was the same malicious voice but this time it wasn’t surrounded by static, this time, she could hear it clearly. _“That’s not just an angel, that’s a seraph. We can’t stay here for much longer.”_

Hearing the voice inside her so clearly made Yohane panic, but at that moment, something else made her freeze up even more.

“To think I would reunite with you this way.” The seraph spoke while looking at Yohane. 

But at that moment, Yohane knew it wasn’t directed at her. It was directed towards the voice inside her. 

“W-What are you talking about?” But even if she was aware, Yohane still wanted answers. What was this sensation? Who was this voice? 

“My apologizes.” The angel responded. “It was meant to be towards the _original you._ ”

“Original…me?”

But then, with her eyes still locked on the holy figure before her, the young alchemist finally spoke.

“Hana…maru?” Ruby’s voice faintly left her lips. 

“I apologize.” It was the angel’s immediate response. “I appreciate that you came all the way here for her, but now that I am back, she does not exist in this world anymore.”

“Wha-?!” Yohane’s voice trembled. The fallen angel clenched her fists and sank her teeth deep into her lip. “What the hell are you talking about?!” 

“Calm down.” 

Along with their response, the holy seraph placed their fingertip on top of Yohane’s forehead. At that moment, all of her rage instantly vanished. It was almost as though her very emotions had been rewritten. 

Ruby who was watching carefully couldn’t help but to feel scared by the mere sight. The way Yohane’s expression relaxed, the way all of her will to fight back vanished in an instant, it was disturbing. 

And yet, the angel didn’t stop smiling. 

“You did make it all the way here, giving you an explanation is the least I could do. Will you listen to me?”

Ruby simply responded with a slow nod. But even with such a faint response, there was a strange pain in her heart. There was a really big fear that surrounded her just by the mere idea of having to listen to this explanation. 

Maybe it was because despite this presence looking just like Hanamaru, despite they having the same voice as that girl, it didn’t _feel_ the same. It felt like someone else entirely. Maybe it was because standing before an otherworldly being like this was already breathtaking. Maybe it was because she was scared to defy them. Because she was scared her own emotions would get rewritten just like that. 

So that’s why, Ruby was left with no choice but to agree. She was left with no choice but to listen.

“When a celestial being falls from heaven, when they become a fallen angel, there is a reason their entire being is transformed, there is a reason why they become a demon.” The seraph spoke while now holding an open book, almost as though they were reading a passage from it. “And that reason is that the world isn’t able to keep up. Compared to the world of the celestials, this world is much smaller; its rules are much simpler. If an angel is vanished from heaven, they are forced to transform into a lower being, one that is able to coexist under the rules of this creation.”

This was a lot of information for Ruby to take in. It’s not that she was completely ignorant about the concept of angels and demons. Some of that imagery came up on her studies of alchemy. After all, the end goal of alchemy was to reach the throne of god. But even if it was said to be like that, there was still no proof for the existence of these beings. There was no proof and yet… one of them stood before her just like that. One of them had been by her side all this time just like that.

“The place where we currently stand is a space that I created, otherwise, my mere presence could end the world. But it seems that even then, the nearby surroundings started falling apart already, I know I should not stay here for much longer but…” 

“So you were the reason everything was such a mess.” Yohane muttered under her breath. 

Her senses and her true emotions were rushing back to her, but the fallen angel had become too scared to defy the presence before her. 

“Precisely.” The book in the angel’s hand closed with a loud sound. “Perhaps, I was waiting for you to arrive. There is a question that even I have no answer for. Why am I here?”

“…?” 

“Even throughout the history of creation, such happening is unprecedented. Although I do not understand how it came to be, it appears I descended to this land and in order to prevent this world from falling apart, my anima was sealed in a vessel of human appearance, giving life to the one you came to know as “Hanamaru.”” 

“So then-?!” Ruby unconsciously raised her voice. “Maru is?!” 

“Hanamaru and I are one and the same. After coming in contact with a source of Arcanum, in other words, celestial power, the seal came undone, allowing me to return. This is why the one you are looking for is gone. Now that I have woken up once again, my temporary human form has ceased to be.”

“But then… then…” 

“Why do you say it like that?!” Yohane raised her voice. Her overflowing emotions went beyond even her fear. “If you are her… if you are Hanamaru… then why are you talking like this is none of your business?!”

“You remember, don’t you?!” Ruby could barely hold back the tears in her eyes. “All the time we’ve spent together, all the time you were there for Ruby. If you are Maru then…”

“I do remember.” The seraph then gave a simple answer that would shatter their hearts into a million pieces. “But it doesn’t mean anything to me.” 

“…” “…”

“I believed a former angel like you would understand. Perhaps you got too used to the laws of this world.” She spoke while looking at Yohane. “Feeling emotions, affection, making connections with others, even the passage of time, it is nothing but a human concept. I am afraid I cannot experience that anymore, there is no connection between you and me.”

“That’s… not true!!” The young alchemist broke down in tears, approaching the angel and holding unto her celestial robe while frustrated. “That’s not true at all!! After all… after all… Ruby could feel it! She could feel your emotions all this time, she could feel your loneliness and your sadness! Y-You were the closest to Ruby and yet-!!”

Yohane on the other hand remained silent. She clenched her fist and bit into her lip so hard that a string of blood started rolling down. 

“Yoshiko, I am afraid that what she says is right.” The voice inside her spoke. “We were too lat-”

“Shut up!!” The fallen angel screamed. She glared at the seraph with anger. “Angels, demons and whatever! I don’t care about that one bit!! I am here to get Hanamaru back and I’m not leaving without her!!”

“I understand your sorrow.” The angel’s expression didn’t change. “But how do you plan to do that?”

“How…?” Yohane knew she had no answer.

“Do you believe that because her memories remain in me you will get through to her and bring her back? Do you believe that if you fight me and bring me down I will revert into my former self?”

“That’s-”

“I believe positivism is a good thing, it spreads good energy across this world. But that is not it. It is not how it works. Even if I willingly changed into a human form now, I would be forced to start over from zero. It is not a matter of convincing me or forcing me to do it. It simply cannot be done.” 

Pushing the alchemist away from her, the angel gave their back to them. Their pristine holy wings fluttered in the air as the holy being snapped their fingers, changing the heavens above them into a different image. 

“But even if I do not know why I am here, I have found a purpose.”

“?!”

“This overflowing, negative energy that is spreading across this world. To think that the source would be here. After making it all the way here, why don’t you witness it with me?” 

Confused, the two girls looked at the images that appeared in the skies above. They were clear images that showed all of their friends and they showed all of the events that were taking place in the broken world below.

☆

No matter how much Seira struggled, Mari’s grip wouldn’t let go of her. One of her arms had been completely restrained and she could feel her air running out as the blonde’s arm pressed harder against her neck.

But she was in a situation where she didn’t have the leisure to accept her demise. After all, her life wasn’t the only one on the line. Her sister was in danger as well. No, these people that had become involved, they were in danger too. 

Of course, Erena wasn’t going to give her time to think of a strategy. While taking control of Dia’s body, the alchemist’s blade flew towards Seira at an incredible fast speed. 

All she could rely on were her instincts. 

She started using her free arm to slam her elbow violently against the blonde’s gut, but it didn’t work. Even if she was indeed making damage to her body, the mind that was in control was somewhere else.

That meant that Erena could exploit their bodies without receiving any damage at all. Counting on the fact that they would react or stagger due to pain was useless. 

As all of her adrenaline rushed across her body, Seira kicked the ground and threw all her weight behind her, forcing the blonde to stagger and fall, barely in time to dodge Dia’s blade. Strands of Seira’s purple hair fell down into the void. 

The elder Saint Snow sister used this chance to free herself from Mari’s grasp and jump into the platform below while gasping for air. 

“So you really intend to fight back.” The A-RISE general spoke through the alchemist. “How naive.”

But Seira didn’t have enough energy to respond. She was already too busy trying to put herself together. The strange sensation of this environment was overwhelming her, it felt just like that place where she had gone to save her sister. 

With her magic sealed her best option was to try and gain time to come up with a strategy but before she could get away, both of her opponents had already reached the platform where she stood. 

Walking towards her, she could see the black haired alchemist with her weapon in hand. She turned around and was able to see the blonde leader pointing her gun at her. 

Facing a weapon such as that was a whole different experience when she couldn’t use magic, it was clear it was the most dangerous one thanks to its range. 

Ignoring the alchemist for now, Seira turned around and rushed towards Mari. She tackled her, slamming her body against her while taking hold of her wrist. If she could disarm her she could get a great advantage. All she had to do was to take her gun and then she would have means of fighting back. 

And yet… 

Seira’s body crashed against the cold grass in the broken piece of land. Sharp spikes created with the power of alchemy had stabbed into her back as she tried to disarm Mari. Immediately after, her body was lifted up into the air as the blonde’s boot sank deep into Seira’s gut, sending her flying down into the void. 

As she fell, her sight was illuminated by the bright purple light of Mari’s plasma cannon. 

A loud explosion resounded. 

And at that moment, a torrent falling rain spread in different directions. 

The rain had been caused by a large burst of water that stopped Mari’s attack at the last moment. 

Even though Seira could feel her body falling across the void, it came to a sudden stop. But it didn’t hit against any solid surface. Instead she had been caught by the blue ponytail girl. 

“It’s just like she said.” 

Kanan held Seira in her arms as she glared at the two opponents that approached from above.

 

Moments earlier she was together with the imperial commander and the twin braided girl. They were trying to come up a plan to regroup faster but, out of nowhere, the sound of a loud explosion reached them.

“W-What was that?!” Kasane panicked, frantically looking at the area around her.

“Alisa?!” Yukiho immediately reacted. 

Kanan wasn’t sure of what to say. Even though they all had their own reasons to be concerned, Kanan couldn’t stop thinking about Ruby. Just what was she trying to do? And it wasn’t only Ruby. Chika, You, Dia and Mari, were they all okay? Were they safe?

“Follow me.” The auburn haired girl took a deep breath.

Yukiho was ready to go and find the source of that explosion but… it all happened in an instant. 

The platform where they were standing was surrounded by columns of fire that came flying in their direction. Neither of them were given time to guard against such a merciless attack. 

All Kanan could remember was her body rolling against the floor thanks to the impact. She immediately released a large torrent of water magic, putting out the attack and saving the others. But as soon as she could stand up again, they were surrounded by Yuri and Coco, two of the imperial guards. 

“…” 

Yukiho didn’t bother to scold them, she simply stared at them while trying to judge the situation. 

“Sorry about that.” Yuri scratched her head. “We thought you were enemies from afar.”

“Hawawa, what have we done?!”

Kanan and Kasane simply remained in silence as they approached Yukiho who continued to stare at them with her arms crossed. 

And then, the sound of a blade cutting through the air reached Kanan’s ears. Her eyes opened wide in surprise as she noticed Yuri swinging her weapon towards the imperial commander. 

Yukiho on the other hand remained unfazed. Her reaction was a simple one. She moved forward towards the weapon approaching her while simultaneously dodging its trajectory. The way she moved was so fast that Kanan’s eyes had trouble keeping up. 

Then she easily disarmed Yuri, making her sword fall to the ground by twisting her wrist. 

“Did you seriously think that was going to work?” Yukiho sighed.

She was able to dodge the surprise attack successfully, or so she thought. 

The imperial commander kneeled down in pain after the blade that had just fallen into the ground stabbed into her side. 

She had approached slowly and carefully. So much that no one even noticed her presence. 

The one who had done it was the younger sister with purple pigtails.

“W-W-What did I?!” Ria let go of Yuri’s sword and looked at her hands terrified.

The imperial guards were fast to move. A new blade materialized on Yuri’s hand, one made out of flames. They were all rapidly surrounded as the guards pointed their weapons at them.

“Are you okay?!” Kanan ran towards Yukiho. 

She didn’t even care about her enemies. She kicked up a wave of water and forcefully pushed everyone else back, blocking their path. 

“This isn’t the time to worry about me.” Yukiho’s trembling hand reached for the sword at her side, pulling it out. “This is likely Erena’s mind control. You need to find Mari and Dia, they met with her before so she will surely control them too.”

“Mari and Dia?! B-But you are--!” Kanan panicked the moment she saw how much blood was flowing out of Yukiho’s wound.

“Who do you think I am?” Yukiho stood up, pressing a palm of her hand against her wound. “This is an order, you have to find them. Otherwise, she might break them.”

Even if Yukiho said that, Kanan knew she wasn’t in a state where she could leave her alone to fight. But if what she said was true then Dia and Mari would surely die. 

“What are you standing there for?!” Yukiho screamed. “Hurry!!”

In the end, Kanan had left to look for them. Even though she was confused about the situation, there was one last instruction Yukiho had given her.

 _“Don’t look into their eyes.”_

 

And now, her fears had been confirmed. The two were rapidly approaching, ready to go all out against Kanan.

“You-?!” Seira yelled in shock once she realized the position she was in. Not only was she being princess carried by a former enemy, but her life had been saved by them. “What are you doing?!”

“Tch.” Kanan however, ignored her. A grin spread across her face and cold sweat rolled down her neck. “I was expecting to get a shot at you two again, but I didn’t want it to be like this.”

☆

The golden light of alchemy surrounding Alisa’s body slowly dissipated. Instead, her body slowly became shrouded by a dark violet aura.

All the falling petals surrounding her had begun to wither away just by entering her range. 

“You…” Anju couldn’t help but to start laughing. “You did it, didn’t you?! You have entered a forbidden realm!! Hahaha, you are amazing!! Wonderful!!”

As Alisa opened her eyes to look at her opponent, their colors had changed. 

Anju was able to see a pair of bright, menacing red eyes glaring at her. 

And so, as Alisa spoke, a second, low and otherworldly voice overlapped with hers. 

_“Perfect possession complete. I hereby grant you the permission to inhabit my body.”_

A wheel of lights then appeared at her back as she flew towards Anju like a projectile.

☆

“R..Riko? You?” Chika opened her eyes.

The orange haired girl didn’t even know what happened. Her body had been suddenly assaulted by powerful magic and sent crashing against the ground. She could feel her leg just over the edge of the platform.

“What did you do?!” A screaming voice reached Chika’s ears, snapping her back to her senses.

“An imperial guard, huh? Are you sure you want to defy me? It will cost you your head.” The voice of the princess spoke in a mocking tone.

“T-That’s not it but…” Haruka immediately backed down. 

“But?”

Haruka wasn’t comfortable with giving out any kind of response. She was standing before the person with the highest authority after all. To say that it would cost her life wasn’t exaggeration. 

“If you have nothing to say, then get away from my sight.” The wine-red haired princess extended out her hand, releasing a massive blast of wind. 

The wind cut through the very ground below, but it was suddenly dissipated by the sound of space itself warping.

“What are you doing?” 

The orange haired girl stood before her with her hand stretched out. Haruka quickly ran, hiding behind Chika. She was certain that it would all be over if she took that attack. 

“What’s wrong Chika?” This time it was You that spoke. “She’s just getting rid of the trash you know.”

“What’s with that expression?” Riko laughed. “You are not angry are you?” 

“Run away.” The orange haired girl spoke. Not towards her friends but towards the girl that hid behind her.

“Huh?!”

“I don’t know what’s going on, but these aren’t Riko and You.” The orange haired girl took a step forward. “My power can be dangerous, so please run. Whatever this is, I can’t let them use my friends as they please.”

The younger girl with brown pigtails remained lost in thought for a moment. She was an imperial guard, protecting others was her job and yet… all she could do now was to run for her life.

“No.” Haruka took a deep breath. “That isn’t the princess, if I were to believe that then, I will fight back. I can’t look after Kanata if I’m the kind that runs away.”

“Heh, so you are still thinking about your sister.” You grinned. “Did you know? By now your sister is…NO!!”

The gray haired captain let out a sudden yell mid-sentence. The tone in her voice was different. She fell to the ground, struggling and screaming in pain.

“W-What is it about my sister?!”

“You?!” 

Chika frantically ran towards her to help but her feet soon left the ground. The orange haired girl was blown away by a powerful wind current, unable to reach out for her friend in pain. 

“Chika!!” Haruka ran after her, trying to stop the impact. 

Haruka didn’t hesitate. She jumped off the platform and tackled Chika’s falling body in midair. The orange haired girl rolled across the solid floor of a random platform while Haruka crashed a few platforms below with a loud cracking noise.

The orange haired girl felt her body in pain. Why was this happening? This wasn’t the time to lie down, she used her hands to support herself and try to get back up. But instead of reaching for the floor she was able to feel a cold and familiar sensation. 

Her hand was touching one of her mythril gloves. Looking at the place where she had fallen, it looked like the remains of a bedroom. 

“What is wrong with you?!” Riko crossed her arms, pulling the captain up by her hair. “You are a precious sample so you should keep it together.”

The princess sighed, roughly letting go of the captain and then turning around. 

“Now then, should I go after her?”

But there was no need. 

The orange haired girl jumped back into the platform where Riko stood.

This time, something had changed. 

Chika was enveloped by a swirling black aura that came from the gloves in her hands. And even though Erena was only looking at her through the princess’ eyes, she could feel an incredible rising pressure coming from her.

☆

“Such impurity, such defilement, there is no meaning to a world like this.” For the first time, there was a change in the seraph’s tone of voice. “That is why right here, right now, I will put an end to it.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At this rate, me being late with the updates is almost a tradition isn't it? Although I'm glad I'm still able to do it weekly in the end, thank you for your patience! 
> 
> ☆
> 
> ☆ If you want to keep track of me or just talk, I'm always on twitter [@YukiSetsuna](https://twitter.com/YukiSetsuna)
> 
> ☆ And if you like my work, please check out my original story: [Scarlet Finale!](https://www.honeyfeed.fm/u/1283) Any likes/comments there will be greatly appreciated!


	46. Beat in Angel - Part 2

Chika stood before the wine-red haired princess. Even if she was unable to understand the situation she was in, she wasn’t trying to. At the moment, the only thought in her mind was easy and simple, to save her friends, and more importantly, to get where the captain was. The way You had suddenly collapsed like that was extremely concerning; something told Chika she had to get where she was immediately. 

But this is where her second biggest problem came in. The enemy that stood before her was no other than the princess. Not understanding what happened was turning this into an extremely difficult situation, after all, was the princess being controlled or was that someone else entirely? 

If the first option was the correct one, it meant that she had to hold back and be careful from causing her any major harm. But if the second option was the real one then that meant she couldn’t trust anyone around her, in a sense, it would be even worse that way. 

Even then, the orange haired girl wasn’t aware of what her real disadvantage was. While both of the options above were already difficult to handle on her own, she wasn’t taking into account _who_ she was really facing. 

After all, even if the person who stood before her looked like the princess, even if there was no other way to see it. The one who stood before her was also one of the A-RISE generals. The one who opposed her was none other than Erena, the strategist of A-RISE, the one responsible for bringing her into the city of Tokyo in the first place. 

A cold breeze slowly ran by, making Chika’s braid sway from side to side. The source of this wind however, was Riko’s magic. Even though it was a familiar sensation to the orange haired girl, being on the receiving end of that magic was entirely different. She was engulfed by an incredible pressure as Riko took one single step forward, an attack was coming. 

The breeze surrounding her immediately changed into a powerful wind as an incredible sound assaulted Chika’s ears. It was the sound of wind slashing across space itself. Even though Chika was unable to see the attack, both the sound and the rubble that was dragged along with it gave away its trajectory. 

In response, the orange haired girl extended out her right arm. As expected, the power of Dark Matter activated the moment her fingertips made contact with the magic. The sound of distorted space blurred out the sound of raging wind as the dark aura appeared around Chika’s hand, rapidly going back into her mythril gloves. 

“?” 

Chika stared at her hand in confusion for just a second. This wasn’t the first time she experienced the power of Dark Matter and this wasn’t the first time she had seen the effect of these gloves, but something felt off, something was different. 

“I see.” Erena spoke through Riko, bringing the princess’ hands to her chin. 

This time the sound of wind was coming from many different directions at once. Chika rapidly turned around, trying to make contact with the great slashing wind that came towards her back. But even though she was successfully able to dispel that attack once more, she wasn’t able to get to the attacks that had followed along. 

Chika’s body was swayed to the side and then sent crashing down into the solid floor. She could feel sharp pain running across her body as the wind stabbed into her like sharp blades. The orange haired girl gasped for air, she was overwhelmed by the impact but deep inside she felt a tiny glimpse of relief. 

Even if her body was in pain and even if she could feel blood starting to pour down her arms, legs and torso, she had taken much less damage than she had expected. The slashes of wind that had been sent at her had been so huge that they could have slashed her body apart in half with a single strike. Even though it had become clear to her that the princess was always holding back in combat and always preventing herself from using such deadly attacks, this wasn’t the reason Chika survived. 

Erena had gone all out. 

But as the orange haired girl stood up once more, she was able to see it clearly. That familiar and yet strange energy, Dark Matter, was flowing out of her hands and swirling across her body. Most of Riko’s attack had been devoured by it, so only the few leftovers that managed to get past it were what injured Chika. How long had this energy been running around her body? Did it happen just now? Was it there from the very beginning of this confrontation? She wasn’t sure of what the answer was, but she now become extremely self-conscious about it.

“This is it.” A smile spread across the princess’ face. “This is the power that left even Tsubasa in such a deplorable state. Even though I extracted some from her, it was not enough, it was barely enough… but this… this is fantastic.”

“Tsubasa?” 

Chika couldn’t even find the words to question whoever stood before her now. Judging by what they said, it wasn’t the first time they had seen this kind of power. Looking back on it, there was something that had been bothering Chika ever since she arrived at Tokyo. Back at the main UTX building, they were threatened by the power of Dark Matter, a strange power A-RISE wasn’t supposed to possess. 

“You saw it already, didn’t you? The state she is in isn’t normal, it seems as though your Dark Matter was able to reveal the true nature behind our current “Tsubasa.” At this rate the experiment might be a success.”

“Experiment? What are you talking about?!” 

She didn’t know how to respond at all. Seeing this person talk through Riko was making her more and more angry. 

“Are you curious? I wouldn’t mind to tell you more if you show me the true extent of that power.”

Having said this, the princess simply walked towards Chika, moving her hand towards her wrist in order to take hold of it.

The orange haired girl immediately jumped back. Not because she was scared of her enemy, but because she was scared of her Dark Matter coming in contact with the princess.

Even though the gloves were supposed to stop this power, even though they had the purpose of containing it, they were now doing the exact opposite. The power of Dark Matter was leaking out, continuously swirling around Chika, even approaching You was starting to look like a bad idea. 

“Didn’t you hear what I said?” Even though Chika stepped back slowly, the princess suddenly rushed towards her, extending out her hand as the intense wind from her magic enveloped both. “Show me more! I must witness the true force of that power!!” 

“No.”

Chika kicked the ground with a lot of force. The moment she did, the Dark Matter surrounding her moved in sync, releasing a great strike that tore apart part of the solid platform. The solid piece of ground jumped up, coming between the two of them and stopping Riko’s attack. 

“Chi..ka.” The voice of the captain reached her. 

“?!” 

The princess turned around to see, but the first thing she was able to see was an approaching light as a wave of ice magic trapped her feet against the floor. Even though You still remained on the ground, even though she wasn’t able to say anything else, she had used whatever remained of her strength to create an opening.

Not letting go of this chance, Chika jumped right into the opening that had been created on the floor before her. She fell down at least three platforms below but the Dark Matter acted like a cushion, preventing her from receiving any damage.

She knew this wasn’t the time to run away, but she had to look deeper into it. She had to look much deeper into it and piece things together if she wanted to be able to do something. After all, it felt like she was really close to reaching an answer.

Saying that she simply can’t control her power wasn’t an option. She felt like there was a solution somewhere inside her mind, she just had to dig deep into it.

☆

“Can you still fight?”

Seira was able to listen to Kanan’s voice. She still had trouble keeping up with the situation and the pain from Dia’s previous attack was getting to her, but she wasn’t the kind to accept defeat so easily. 

“Of cour-“

She tried to give a reply but the blue ponytail girl did not have the time to wait for one. As soon as both landed on top of a platform, Kanan let her down on the ground and left just as fast. Seira was left sitting on the floor as she stared at Kanan’s back who continued to ascend at an incredible speed. 

Being handicapped by not being able to use her magic was still really frustrating, but there was no way she would sit here and wait.

“?” But something caught her attention, something that had been left on the floor just next to her. “These are…?” 

 

Kanan clenched her fists as she landed right in front of Dia, the two opponents that waited for her were two of the scariest people to face in combat. 

With her weapon in hand the black haired girl immediately rushed towards Kanan, attempting to get a clean strike, but the blue ponytail girl did not back down. Instead, she was fast to retaliate immediately. 

Launching a punch forward, not only did Kanan sway away Dia’s blade with her fist, but she released a large current of water that pushed her back. Even though she had her back faced at her second opponent, Kanan kicked the floor, releasing a surge of water behind her that stopped the impact from Mari’s plasma gun. 

“You’ve made a big mistake.” Kanan grinned despite being in the midst of combat. “Did you think you’d have an advantage by taking over the bodies of someone so strong? Do you know how hard these girls have worked to get where they are? How complicated their powers are? I thought the members of A-RISE were better than this.” 

“Tch.” 

Provoked by her words, Erena frowned through Dia’s body. This time, she casted away her blade and extended her hands while trying to reach for Kanan. The blue ponytail girl jumped to the side, holding Dia’s wrist and pushing her down into the ground with a lot of force. The moment her hand made contact with the platform below it, the floor exploded into many little pieces. 

This was enough to let Kanan know Erena was going all out. Had Dia’s fingertips so much as touched Kanan’s skin, she would have ended with the same fate. This is why she was careful to get as much as distance as she could even as both fell across the air into the platform below. 

Keeping her mind on something so delicate however, made it easier to forget about her environment. Kanan felt a shudder run down her spine as she heard the distinct sound of plasma breaking through the air and moving towards her at full speed. 

But instead of receiving the attack head on, she was tackled in mid-air by Seira who jumped in just in time. Making sure to dodge the attack as well, Seira clung into Kanan after the impact, making both roll across the cold floor on one of the platforms. 

Of course, they didn’t have enough time to take it easy even after dodging that. In seconds, the black haired girl had launched a barrage of sharp missiles created with her alchemy on the spot where both landed.   
“Hmph, we are even now!” Seira sneered at Kanan as both jumped away. 

“If you have the energy to run your mouth, how about you help me out here?!” 

“You don’t need to tell me!!” 

With this, the two girls dashed towards an opponent each. 

 

Even though Mari’s weapon still made Seira incredibly anxious, this time Dia would be too busy with Kanan, as long as she was careful, defeating her opponent wouldn’t be impossible. 

A barrage of plasma beams ran towards the girl with the purple side-ponytail. Even though she couldn’t use magic, her physical ability was impressive and in par with Kanan’s. She knew she had to close the distance as soon as possible but taking it head on was way too risky. 

Moving at a high-speed, Seira jumped across the platforms surrounding the place, she moved between them with a lot of ease, launching herself forward with more and more force each time. 

From a distance, it was difficult to keep track of her image and all you could see was a wave of purple plasma running in circles. 

Using a swift, unexpected movement, she launched herself upwards, two platforms above and then jumped down, landing right next to Mari. She had done it fast enough that the blonde girl wouldn’t have been able to aim properly. 

Without hesitation, this time, she held Mari’s wrists and pulled on them with enough force to bring her close, only to strike with a strong head-butt. This would have been enough for anyone to drop their weapon, but this wasn’t the case. After all, Erena was unable to feel the physical pain that was sent to the bodies under her control. Instead, Mari’s gun began charging up a powerful attack as Seira desperately tried to disarm her. 

 

Kanan wasn’t having an easy time either. Even though she continued to use torrents of water to stop Dia’s projectiles in midair, those same torrents were working against her, taking away visibility which was just enough for Erena to come at her with killing intent. 

Not only did Kanan have to fight back while making sure not even a single attack from such an opponent would connect, but she had to do it while being careful not to look into her eyes.

“What’s wrong?” The alchemist asked. “You were all pumped before but all you are doing now is defending.”

“You seem to be mistaken.” Kanan slowly took a step back.

“Huh?”

But Kanan didn’t bother to give her a response. This time she hit her palm against her own fist, letting some water splash out from it. Even though this situation was dangerous, the way Kanan saw it was different. Even though she had been curious about fighting Dia, even though she might have been looking forward to something like this for a long time now, this wasn’t it. This wasn’t Dia. 

Had this been Dia, Kanan would have had no confidence on being able to win at all. She would have been overwhelmed by her alchemy and strategies in an instant. So just the fact that she had managed to keep up for this long, the fact that this person has resorted to using alchemy merely for destruction, it was nothing but a big mistake. 

After all, alchemy and magic were not the same. It wasn’t something just anyone could control. 

At that moment, Kanan didn’t take a step back because she was intimidated or because she wanted to run away. She had taken a step back in order to get enough impulse. 

Even though there was no way for Erena to know, there was a tiny surge of water just between Kanan’s feet and the floor. In an instant, the blue ponytail girl used it to launch herself forward at an incredible speed. 

The alchemist stretched out her hand, ready to strike Kanan but Kanan easily dodged it by moving to the side. She then held Dia’s wrist, and pulled all of her body up with one swift movement. Before the black haired girl’s body could hit hard against the ground, Kanan reached for the pocket of her coat, pulling a small paper seal and pressing it against Dia’s forehead. 

It was one of the seals Yukiho had used to seal Seira’s magic, and with this, her connection with Erena had been severed in an instant. 

 

As this happened, Seira could feel an incredible heat reaching her body. 

It was heat from the plasma that Mari had been charging up. But something was wrong. Seira could hear the sound of Mari’s guns hitting against the floor, she had somehow managed to disarm her, but the heat didn’t go away. 

The moment she took a closer look, she could see Mari’s hands surrounded by an even brighter, purple light. 

“Fine.” The blonde laughed. “In that case, I’ll do this at least. The leader of The Liberation and the leader of Saint Snow. I’ll kill both at once!!”

“Seira!!!” Kanan yelled the moment she realized what happened. The blue ponytail girl ran towards them with all her might. “You have to stop her immediately; you can’t let her use magic without her weapon!!”

“Easier said than done!!” Seira didn’t even know what to do, she didn’t understand but judging from everything she heard, if Mari were to use magic just like that it would be lethal for her. 

Kanan gritted her teeth and dashed with all her might. Her sight became blurred by the bright purple light and every second felt like an eternity.

“Please stop her!!!” Kanan yelled. 

And then…

Everything went silent. 

Mari’s body was pushed backwards, making both her and Seira fall to the ground. 

The purple light surrounding her completely dissipated. 

Seira’s eyes opened in shock by noticing who appeared before her. It was her younger sister Ria who had made it just in time. By the looks of it, she had her magic sealed by Yukiho, breaking her mental link with Erena, and in turn, Ria successfully sealed Mari’s magic. 

The elder Saint Snow sister knew that this might be part of the plan, after all, when Kanan let her down on the floor she had found some similar paper seals that slipped out of Kanan’s pockets. In fact, Seira’s plan was to use one of those on Mari after disarming her, but she would never have thought that the one to do it would be her sister. 

“I completed the mission. Once again, I apologize for my actions.” Ria reported, looking at the platform below while making a salute with her hand. 

“It’s fine.” The one who responded was Yukiho. 

The imperial commander who stood on the platform below was surrounded by the imperial guards who all helped her stand up despite her injuries. 

“Now than that’s done we need to go and find Alis—what?!” 

The Auburn haired girl’s expression suddenly changed as soon as she noticed something flying across the air at full speed. 

“What is it?!” The twin braided girl who was helping support Yukiho panicked.

But Yukiho remained silent. Instead, pushing herself, she gave a step forward and began running away, climbing up the platforms as fast as she could.

“Hawawa, what do we do now?!” 

“We should follow her, you come with us as well.” 

Yuri glanced at Kasane before going after Yukiho along with Coco.

 

“What just…?” Dia whispered, everything was hazy and her head hurt.

“Five more minutes, Ali.” Mari mumbled, going back to sleep. 

 

“Sister, did you also see…?” 

“Yes but I don’t know what to believe. It might be best if we followed along.” 

Seira decided, even if she was scared, ignoring the situation felt like a mistake.

 

“I’ll explain later, just know that your alchemy is sealed right now.” Kanan spoke to Dia as she picked up Mari. “Let’s go!”

☆

Chika could hear the voice of the princess yelling at her. Fortunately for her, the platform where she stood was much bigger than all of the other ones, giving her enough space to keep running and gain distance.

This sensation just now, this swirling energy around her, she was immediately reminded to the day she had fought the fallen angel. 

That day, the power of her Dark Matter was being pulled out of her. She could clearly remember the image of the demonic entity before her as all of her power was drawn towards her. 

That day, Fallen Angel Yohane had said a lot of complicated things. All of it was really difficult for Chika to understand, but there was something that became clear to her. 

Demons were able to use the power of Dark Matter. On that day, her energy had been converted into a black smoke like substance which Yohane called “Miasma.” At the very end, once she received the gloves from Dia, it all happened in a whim, she had done it without thinking, based entirely on instinct but… the moment she received these gloves, Chika converted the demonic Miasma back into Dark Matter and reclaimed her power. 

Come to think of it… this energy around her, it wasn’t because of Chika getting a sudden power up out of nowhere, it wasn’t because of her determination to save her friends. It was something more than that. This was something that had been born by a chain of coincidences; coincidences that just happened to take place around the princess both times. 

Even though Chika had no way to know what happened, Fallen Angel Yohane had worn this gloves while engaged in direct combat with Riko. At that time, Yohane was powered up by the leftover essence of Dark Matter in those gloves. Since Demons could turn Dark Matter into Misma then, this sensation, it was the same as back then. 

Chika was being powered up by the remaining essence of the Fallen Angel, and even now, she was subconsciously turning that into her own power. She was subconsciously using it to protect herself. But above all, she was being protected by the connection she had made that day. 

There was no way to tell what was happening with Riko, but there was something that was certain for Chika. Dark Matter will eat away any magic, even that of a demon or even the power of alchemy. 

And it was the same earlier, the moment she kicked the ground, Dark Matter had reacted along with her. The moment she ran away, she was followed by that energy. Even though it all came to instinct, even though she didn’t understand the base behind it, if she were to choose an answer, this was the closest to it. 

Nodding to herself, the orange haired girl stopped running. She took a deep breath, turned around and rushed back, jumping towards the floating land where the princess was once again. 

“Just you wait…” Chika muttered, cracking her fingers as she approached the princess closer and closer. The energy around her began swirling faster, growing in size and spreading throughout the area. “I’m going to punch you right out of her!!”

But as she did, she could see the image of the princess running right towards her. The ice that had trapped her was sliced down into pieces and the powerful wind that followed her presence was reaching Chika more and more. 

“Did you change your mind?” The wine-red haired girl smiled. “In that case, show me, I want to witness the results first hand, _I don’t even care if this precious body breaks!_ ”

☆

“This is it!!” Anju laughed. She laughed despite her body being constantly crushed against the many platforms as Alisa dragged her across the void. “This is the best experience!! I can barely keep up, this is just wonderful!!”

“…” 

Alisa remained silent. The only response Anju could receive was the sounds of flapping wings as a pair of long, black wings sprouted out of Alisa’s back. And as the wheel of colors behind her continued to spin, large releases of all kinds of magic assaulted Anju. 

Her body was covered in flames, frozen in ice, shocked by lightning, sliced apart by wind and even turned into solid stone that would break into a million pieces. But even then, she would put herself together in just an instant. 

“More, give me more!!”

“Fine.”

With this response, Alisa hurled Anju into the air with great force. This time, her body was suspended in mid-air, but something had changed.

“?!” 

And Anju was able to tell right away.

“W-What is--?!”

“Perfect Possesion, this is one of the many techniques left by one of the previous imperial commanders. It is a technique that she developed thanks to the many revelations she was given by the cards.” 

As Alisa spoke, the second distorted voice that overlapped hers slowly faded away. The wings at her back disappeared and the wheel of colors was gone as well.

“And this is yet another technique created by her, Soul Transference.”

This time, black wings sprouted from Anju’s back and she was completely frozen solid in midair. Paper seals had surrounded her and what looked like a chain of light that sealed her in ran in a circle around her, making her unable to use any kind of magic to strike back either. 

“D-Do you mean tha…-” The A-RISE commander was having trouble letting out her voice.

“The presence that resides in you this moment is a Demon. And here is a fun fact!” Alisa added. “Demons cannot use healing magic.”

With that being said, the light blue light of ice magic gathered on Alisa’s hand, taking the place of an immensely large sword made of light itself.

This time, with this single strike, she would end it all. There was no way for Anju to retaliate anymore, there was no way for her to abuse her healing magic either, she been driven to a dead end by the last line of defense of the imperial forces.

And with this, Alisa swung her blade across the air.

But the chains that surrounded Anju, blocking her movement all broke apart. 

“I see.” Anju laughed. “I see how it is now!!”

Alisa panicked, rapidly attempting to cast a binding spell once again, but it was too late. She was suddenly punched by Anju in the gut. On top of that, after using such a technique, all of her energy was fading away. With this, Anju easily grabbed her and flew across the void at full speed.

“It is close, it has reached me!! An incredible source of power, I need it, thanks to you, I can feel it!! Hahaha, wonderful!!”

“D-Dark matter?!” Alisa had trouble speaking as her body continued to be carried across the air but Anju’s grasp on her only got stronger. 

“Precisely!!”

☆

Chika ran as the malicious energy known as Dark Matter surrounded her body, she ran towards the princess who was ready to launch an all-out attack.

At that moment, Kanan, Seira and the others had reached the platform. 

At that moment, the blue ponytail and the purple said-tail girl could do nothing but to call out to Chika as they extended their hand at her, trying to reach her in vain. 

At that moment, the imperial commander and her guards stepped on the other end of the platform. As the guards reached for the captain, Yukiho’s attention was directed somewhere else. 

The auburn haired commander ran with all her might despite her injuries as the image of a demonic Anju carrying Alisa appeared before her eyes. 

The demon that appeared before her however, had her eyes on Chika, flying towards her like a jet. 

And then, at the moment of impact, time itself came to a stop.

☆

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm glad for everyone's support and for your patience! I also didn't take into account as much how busy everyone can get with school and everything, so thank you for sticking around despite that! 
> 
> ☆
> 
> ☆ If you want to keep track of me or just talk, I'm always on twitter [@YukiSetsuna](https://twitter.com/YukiSetsuna)
> 
> ☆ And if you like my work, please check out my original story: [Scarlet Finale!](https://www.honeyfeed.fm/u/1283) Any likes/comments there will be greatly appreciated!


	47. Beat in Angel - Part 3

The image of the unfolding chaos had frozen over, encompassing everyone within as time itself came to a sudden halt. 

“W…What did you do?!” Yohane panicked as she glanced at the still image that was displayed in the heavens.

“It is just as I said.” With a soft clap of their hands, the images dissipated, returning the environment to the pure skies of unknown colors. “I will put an end to this impurity.” 

“But what do you mean by tha-!?”

“Demon. Do not try to play fool. I know you are well aware of the meaning behind my words.”

“Huh?”

“After all, your kind is lured by that filthy essence. You saw it just now and I am certain you have experienced it first-hand before. Come to think of it… the day my other-self came in contact with this group the impurity had spread among them, forcing Hanamaru to take action.”

“So by that… you can’t mean…” The face of a single person clearly appeared in Yohane’s memory. It was the face of the orange haired girl who currently stood at the center of all the events taking place in the world below them. “Chika?! Do you plan to erase the little demon?!”

“Impurity must be cut from its very roots; otherwise the risk for this world is too large. Even as an observer I cannot allow it.” 

“You have to be kidding me.” Yohane clenched her fists harder and harder, speaking with anger as she looked down at her own feet. “You can’t be serious.”

Ruby on the other hand, simply remained silent while blankly staring at the scenery before her. All will to fight back had left her; any possible option was now out of her reach. 

“If that is all you have to say, I believe we have reached our conclusion.” The seraph’s wings slightly flapped to accompany her nod. “This is farewell.”

“No.” 

Yohane’s response was immediate. She was acting based entirely on impulse. She had stopped being logical. She had stopped trying to think of a way out, she was not considering any of the possible solutions. But even so, even in this hopeless situation, she couldn’t accept this result. Even if it were to spell out her demise she couldn’t accept this. To forget about the person she’s cared about for so long just like that? To act like everything up till now was meaningless? Like her own feelings were meaningless? That alone had put a heavy toll upon her heart. But then… even after all that, she was going to lose one of the few people who had accepted her? 

This celestial was going to get rid of the one person who had once saved her before? No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. 

Even while standing before an otherworldly holy presence. Even while standing before the being that opposed her very existence, Yohane took a step forward. She moved closer and closer while glaring at the Seraph with eyes full of rage. 

“Do you remember the method used in order to create the world?”

The seraph however spoke in a calm manner. Their expression didn’t change. Even as they looked at Yohane approach with such a high level of hostility, to the seraph, it meant nothing. Instead, they simply continued speaking. 

“Words. Such a mysterious and yet simple thing that any living being has access to, that is the foundation of our very world. This is the same reasons skilled spell casters are able to modify their magic beyond anyone’s imagination, because they are effectively using a fragment of the power of words.” 

“What about it?” By the tone of her voice, it was clear that Yohane wasn’t interested in anything the Seraph had to say. 

“The world below is currently on pause. In the end, you did make it all the way here. Emotion was it? I am sure that must be what you are experiencing right now. Even though I dislike needless confrontation, as a sign of gratitude, I shall grant you an option. In human words: I will give you a good bye present, a chance to vent your feelings.” With this, the Seraph extended their arm, the rings behind their head lit up with pristine light. “Using the power that sustains this world, _I hereby declare that under the end of our confrontation, the force of my Arcanum will be sealed into 1%.”_

With this, the light surrounding the angel faded away into particles of light. Even though nothing looked different, if what they stated was true, they were giving Yohane a fighting chance. Otherwise, she would have been crushed in the less than an instant the moment she attempted anything.

“Use this.” 

Yohane’s voice snapped Ruby away from her thoughts. At that moment, something fell in front of her feet, something Yohane had hurled at her. 

“This is…?”

“It’s the book that idiot was using to cast her spells. I don’t know what to do with it but you are an alchemist, right? Figure out something!!”

“Figure out… something?”

Ruby kneeled down, moving closer to the book. To figure out something? But what was she supposed to do? Even if she was an alchemist, what could she do with a single book-?

No. There was something else to it. She only realized it the moment her fingertips came in contact with the book in question. The overall aura of that girl still remained in its pages. 

“Please buy Ruby some time!!” 

She yelled in response at Yohane who charged at the seraph. Something had clicked inside her. If it were to be the book alone, it would be useless. But the book wasn’t the only material she had to work with. That small gem she had received, the core of the forest, if she were to use both then maybe…

 

Completely ignoring what the two girls were up to, the Seraph simply looked at them. Even while preparing for combat, their expression did not change.

“Now.” The voice of the seraph spread through the heavens. “Come.” 

Yohane’s body was shrouded by a cape of black fire as she shot forward like a giant bullet. A loud crashing sound confirmed the moment of impact and a stream of smoke flew behind her back. She had landed a direct hit using the full force of her magic, the seraph was limited to only 1% of their angelic power, this attack would have an effect for sure. 

But what was the true extent of a simple 1%?

It was enough to contain Yohane’s magic, draining it away and negating the impact with a single finger. 

The fallen angel immediately jumped back. Having such a strong attack negated with so little effort was already enough to deal a big blow to her morale, but that wasn’t all. After all, her opponent wasn’t anyone ordinary. It was an otherworldly higher being that wields absolute holy power. The moment she stepped into this sacred territory, Yohane could already feel a slight burning sensation eating away at her body, but this time it was different. This time it was much greater. 

After launching that attack, she had moved forward with a punch to direct her magic. The moment the seraph moved their finger and made contact with Yohane’s fist, three of her fingers had been greatly burnt, painting her skin with a charred gray color. 

But Yohane didn’t back down, not even as immense pain attacked her senses and spread through her body. She didn’t scream and she didn’t run away. Instead she clenched her fist, sinking her burnt fingers deep into her palm. 

_“Yoshiko, stop. There is no meaning in this anymor-”_

“SHUT UP!!” The fallen angel yelled, drowning out the voice inside her head. 

It didn’t matter how dangerous it was. It didn’t matter if she were to burn down into ashes. After all, the being that stood before her. Looking at the eyes of that Seraph that looked down at her with pity, that looked down on her as if they were looking at an insect, it hurt. Looking at the presence before her who wielded the face of the person she treasured the most, seeing her threaten to destroy her everything, she couldn’t stand it. To her, this had meaning. 

After all, there was something that Yohane had recently started to learn about. She still couldn’t understand the concept properly. There were still many things she was insecure about. But the journey that had taken her here, all the people she had met in the way, the connections that she had established with them. She wasn’t alone anymore. Even as she fought in this hopeless situation, there was someone at her back who was fighting for the same cause, someone that was also trying to find a solution. 

As Yohane approached the seraph once again, lights of many colors started flickering at her back while arranged like a wheel. It could be that she was bringing them up unconsciously; it could be that the nature of her very core knew how to bring forth that power, but that didn’t matter to her. Thinking about how her powers worked and how to use them properly was the last thing in her mind. 

The sound of roaring thunder loudly exploded in the heavenly space as a surge of electricity began to swirl around Yohane before crashing down into her feet. Even though they were standing in the midst of an endless heaven, a magic circle appeared under the seraph’s feet, charging up with a dark purple light. 

She needed to go all out from the very start; she needed to use every single resource at her disposal. 

Using her fire magic, she engulfed her own hands and arms in order to protect herself. Jumping towards the Seraph, a blast of wind escaped her hands, slamming the seraph down into the magic circle. Yohane’s cape frantically flew from side to side as the current of wind spread around her. 

With a loud yell, all her magic exploded at once. The magic circle at the Seraph’s feet let out an incredible surge of lightning upwards that engulfed all of their body to the point not even their wings were visible anymore. At the same time, a downpour of water pressure descended from above, trapping the celestial at the center of impact. 

 

Ruby bit her lower lip, rapidly taking her eyes away from the powerful display of magic before her. She had to hurry and put an end of this. Even if that was a holy seraph, it was still Hanamaru. Even if it meant nothing to the celestial, to Ruby, that was still her precious best friend and seeing her get hurt stung Ruby’s heart. It made her want to cry her eyes out. It made her want to yell at Yohane to stop. But this wasn’t the kind of situation where that was an option. She was well aware of that. If she truly wanted to stop this, then she had to put her knowledge and powers to good use. 

The red haired alchemist kneeled down as she continued with her calculations. The two items placed in front of her, Hanamaru’s spell book and Aokigahara’s power core; there was something familiar spread between the two. It was Hanamaru’s aura, the essence of the Hanamaru she knew. 

Of course, there was a logical reason for her aura to be deeply rooted in them. 

When it came to the book, it was the tool she always used in order to let out her Legendary Power. Since this was always in contact directly with her magic, it only made sense that there would be a lot of leftover power in it. 

When it came to the forest’s core, it had been all thanks to a coincidence. Tracing back to all of the events that took place at that location, the reason the two of them were in the forest in the first place was to extract this very core. They had been sent on an expedition by Mari in order to use is a clue to learn more about the decaying state of the world. 

With the different elements of magic being powered up by different entropies in the world, the only person in The Liberation who was compatible with the forest’s core was Hanamaru, a user of Earth Elemental Magic. At the time, she had been using an empty book in order to slowly extract its power. This same book was later stolen by Saint Snow and used by Seira in order to power herself up. 

With the younger Saint Snow member being a user of Earth Elemental Magic as well, Ruby could tell Ria had extracted the power out of the book, this gem being the result. But as it turned out, with the power residing in Hanamaru’s book originally, some of her magic still resided in this very core. 

With this, she had both an empty tool that conducts magic and a large source of power she could use in order to send that magic forward. All that was left was to add her knowledge of alchemy and celestials into the mix. 

Simply put, even if the seraph had stated that the old Hanamaru had ceased to exist thanks to her return, Ruby didn’t think that was accurate. The falling flowers she had encountered while coming to this location and the items before her right now. Hanamaru’s essence was still here. Hanamaru’s feelings were still here. 

Ruby’s hands moved at an extremely high speed. The floor below and everything around her was just an endless sky, heavily restricting the materials she could use to perform alchemy. The pages of the book continued to flip fast as Ruby forcefully and methodically tore away at them. As the pages flew by, she slid her fingertips around them, painting strange symbols of a bright red color in them by rewriting the pages themselves with alchemy. 

There was no telling if this would work or not. It was a complex, forbidden process; far ahead of anything she’s done before, surpassing even the act of creating life which she had used to save Kasane earlier. 

But not breaking these rules wasn’t an option. All she needed was some more time, just a little longer, just a little more. 

 

However, there might be something that both girls didn’t take into account. 

It was logical, given’s the seraph’s serene and calm demeanor up till now. It was something that could cost them a lot if they weren’t mindful about it. 

_This was currently a battlefield._

With a powerful sound that silenced the roaring thunder and the surging waves, the seraph broke away from Yohane’s devastating attack with a simple flap of her wings. 

This time, there was a slight change in her expression. Looking at her face, Yohane could clearly tell what their intent was, they were about to strike back. 

There was no malicious intent behind it. The seraph’s intentions weren’t to hurt them even more. Celestials weren’t fond of needless combat but as they had mentioned before, they were giving Yohane a chance to vent their feelings. Even without being able to feel anything, they had taken an action out of consideration of the girls who mourned the departure of their close friend. Even now, that had been a very Hanamaru-like action to take. 

But this why they would also strike back. After all, a confrontation can’t exist without two sides to it. After all, they were still a seraph, a being that didn’t follow human logic. And so, they would still crush Yohane with absolute power. 

So then, why did they take so long before making a move?

In the midst of her anger, Yohane was ignoring an important detail. No, she was choosing to ignore it in order to prevent her heart from breaking any further. This was still Hanamaru. And of course, this was Hanamaru’s fighting style, to stand back and charge up her magic for one grand attack. She had seen it firsthand many times; she had seen it take out all of A-RISE’s soldiers with one single hit before. 

If that had been her power as a human, what would this seraph be capable of? 

_“Judgement.”_

The celestial’s statement shook up Yohane to her very core. All it took was a single swing of their arm for an immense blast to shoot forward at a high speed. 

But the attack did not hit Yohane. 

She could feel the heat coming out from the attack grazing her skin, but it had avoided her. 

Yohane’s eyes opened wide the moment she realized it. The reason the attack had avoided was because it was actually directed at…

“Ruby!!!”

Pristine light enveloped the alchemist’s figure.

☆

Where was she now? A faceless figure had been trapped in a world where all color had ceased to exist. With one more step, she would fall off the edge of the world, never to be seen again. Never to be remembered again.

Remembered?

By who?

What were these thoughts? 

It was so strange. Even if she couldn’t feel anything resembling a physical body anymore, there was still pain her chest. 

Did she still have a choice or should she simply take that final step?

☆

Ruby’s expression remained blank. She had completely given up. After all… how could she stand up to such an absolute power? As the massive blast of pristine light reached her, Ruby’s life didn’t flash before her eyes. She didn’t think about herself. The only thing remaining was a simple seed of regret.

 _“I’m sorry.”_ A faint voice escaped her lips. 

The pages of the book that surrounded her were all burnt down into a crisp. The sudden hope that had appeared before her was all shattered to pieces. 

“No.”

And yet, a single voice still opposed such an outcome. 

Even as the blast engulfed everything around her, Ruby found herself completely unscathed. She had been protected by Yohane at the very last moment. The fallen angel stood before her. 

“We are going to save her.” Yohane’s decisive voice reached her.

With the massive blast still running through, Ruby couldn’t even move. Walls of light ran closely to her side as Yohane continued to stop the impact. 

The only reason the fallen angel hadn’t been reduced to ashes was because she continued to use her magic to resist. The wheel of light at her back continued to spin violently. Surges of magic of all elements continued to shoot out of Yohane’s hands, barely holding the blast of energy millimeters away from her skin. 

She was in a situation where she couldn’t stop releasing more and more magic. The moment anything left her hand, be it water, wind, fire or earth, it was instantly consumed away by the light. It was as though there was no end to it. 

“But…” 

Ruby didn’t know what to do. She was conflicted. The book she was using as the base for her procedure was gone now, what was she supposed to do?

“Don’t give up!!” Yohane screamed. She could feel her energy rapidly running out. “If you give up it’s all over!!”

“Ruby knows that but..!!”

“Like hell if I would let it end like this!!!”

With another loud scream, energy exploded around Yohane. Large black wings sprouted from her back and the wheel of lights at her back moved in front of her hand. With one final explosion, they released an endless blast of energy of all elements and colors, breaking apart the Seraph’s merciless attack. 

The immediate danger was over, however, this had also come at a price. 

Yohane had used this as a last resource. The moment the attack was dispelled, her wings and the lights all vanished into thin air. With this, the fallen angel kneeled down before collapsing. 

Ruby rapidly tried to run towards her but her legs immediately gave out. The alchemist’s legs couldn’t stop shaking. They weren’t even responding at all. All Ruby could do was to crawl across the ground. All she could do was to use her hands and force her body to move as the Seraph looked down on her. 

“I won’t… let it end like this…”

Yohane could barely let her own voice out. She struggled, giving it her everything to try and get up but it was futile. 

Just what could she do?! Ruby felt tormented, she was panicking. Even if she knew it was absurd to cry now, even if she knew that wouldn’t fix anything, she couldn’t help but to cry her heart out as she struggled to reach Yohane. Was there any real point to this? Was there really a solution? At that moment, Ruby was assaulted by a powerful wave of negativity. She couldn’t help but feel like everything was useless. There was no easy solution, thinking that she could make the situation better with her own hands had been too naïve. 

After all, maybe it was her own fault that the situation became like this in the first place. To save Hanamaru? Did she have any right to save her? It was stupid, wasn’t it? Even though they were always together, even though she was always right next to her, she continued to ignore her pain. She continued to believe that she would get better. She continued to brush it off because she was too scared to confront it. She never tried to look deeper into it because she was scared of carrying that weight. Because she was too focused on other things. But was that really okay? Of course she knew that was simply human. Of course she knew she wasn’t doing anything with ill intentions. 

Getting used to someone’s pain was something so normal and yet so scary. 

And then… that person wasn’t there anymore. That was what it took for Ruby to finally try and face all of those feelings? Of course, that caused nothing by regret inside her heart. Why did she have to wait up till now? Why couldn’t she do that before? Why couldn’t she tell this person how much she really cared when she was right there?

If she was asking for chances, there were plenty. There were many different chances in many different occasions. And she had ignored every single one of them. Maybe this was the ending she deserved. To think that things would get better now was selfish on her part. To try and force the situation into something that would ease the weight on her heart had been selfish. 

Holding Yohane’s body in her arms, Ruby buried her face in the fallen angel’s chest as she continued breaking down more and more. 

“What… are you doing?” Yohane spoke as her eyes locked on the young alchemist.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” Ruby repeated with a voice full of remorse. 

“It’s not over yet.”

“But…”

“Did you know? At first, from the day I met you, I think I hated you.” The fallen angel confessed with a sheepish smile in her face.

“Eh…?”

“You took her away from me, you were able to get so close to her. But that’s not it. Thanks to you, she was not alone anymore. Thanks to you, I was able to meet her again. In the end… you are the one I’m the most grateful to.”

Using the end of her remaining strength, Yohane held Ruby’s hand. Her violet eyes locked with the alchemist’s teary eyes. Ruby couldn’t help but to intently look at her. She had no words to respond with, she didn’t even know how to feel, but for some reason it felt like those words had stopped her from falling into an endless abyss. 

“Do you really want to save her?”

“Ruby does… Ruby will do anything!!”

“In that case.” Yohane guided Ruby’s hand to the center of her heart. “Fall together with me, little demon.”

Miasma, a demonic energy, began swirling between the two, surrounding their figures. As it did, a certain gem let out its bright pink light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somehow the delays have come full circle and we are back to the original update day! I'll do my best to keep it like this from now on.
> 
> ☆
> 
> ☆ If you want to keep track of me or just talk, I'm always on twitter [@YukiSetsuna](https://twitter.com/YukiSetsuna)
> 
> ☆ And if you like my work, please check out my original story: [Scarlet Finale!](https://www.honeyfeed.fm/u/1283) Any likes/comments there will be greatly appreciated, all it takes is to quickly make an account there!


	48. Absolute Radiance

One step. 

That was all it would take. 

She had no reason to stop; she had no reason to have existed. The nostalgic sound of the sea where the moon reflected called out to her. It was a short life but it was still her life. Every single experience that led to this point, every single emotion that exploded in her heart, it would all be over with that simple action. 

“No.” “Ruby will do anything!” 

She could hear two voices in the distance but they were too faint and were drowned out by the crashing waves.

What was this pain in her heart? 

_“Please don’t go.”_

_“Please don’t leave me.”_

_“I won’t let you fall.”_

_“Is this really okay?”_

She could finally hear her voice clearly, crying out as she poured out those emotions which had enveloped her for so long.

_Thrilling ☆ Sunshine_

☆ 

There was a set of rules that established the balance of the world. These rules worked different for every living and non-living beings that resided within. They were rules set from the very point of creation, rules set in order to keep the world itself from breaking apart.

Angels, celestial entities said to have the role to observe and maintain balance. Celestial entities said to announce to the end of the world itself. These entities were not part of the world, they are only meant to exist outside, for the world was never given rules for it to understand their very origin. Because of this, if a celestial were to descend into the world below, the world itself would shatter. 

Demons, these entities were well known in the mortal world as malicious underground spirits meant to bring chaos, catastrophe and disorder. And yet, they were nothing but fallen angels. They were nothing but entities that had willingly given up their radiance in order to break free. However, by giving up that radiance, they could exist in the world and the world would accept them. 

If demons were entities that were not meant to be, if they were celestials that had committed a taboo and broken free from heaven, then why was the world created with rules that could support their existence? If they were so malicious, unlike angels, why didn’t their very presence tear the world apart? 

Had they really fallen out of their own will or were they meant to fall from the very start? 

The same way there was a different set of all rules for everything that existed within the world, the rules that existed for demons was different as well. 

Air, Water and Earth, the might of nature existed in order to sustain all living beings. But that meant nothing for demons, instead, what the world had created in order to support their existence was “Miasma.” 

Miasma was for demons the same as food was to humans. Of course, they were well beyond any living being. They had no need for something such as food or sleep to survive, but without miasma, they would fade away. 

So what was Miasma? What was the source of this substance? Ironically enough, just like nature created sustenance for living beings. Living beings created sustenance for demons. 

Miasma was the malevolence of the world. 

It was a precious resource that not only allowed them to continue existing in this world, but also filled them with power. 

And at that moment, all the stored miasma that resided within the fallen angel was released at once. 

The dark smoke-like malevolence swirled violently, dancing around the figure of two girls who were prepared to defy the laws of the world and beyond.

Be it because destiny had willed it that way or be it because it had been activated by their absolute determination, a clear and radiant light of pink color let out a powerful glow from within the center of the surging malevolence. 

And what stood before such a surge of power was none other than a high-ranked angel, a seraph, who had ended up in this world for reasons that not even they could understand. 

The celestial being who had remained so calm and composed up till now frowned as they stared at the image before them. For a pristine entity such as them, this impurity was dangerous, it was powerful, it was beyond their calculations, something that should never happen. 

The power of the miasma was starting to affect the environment around them. The ever-lasting colorful skies that had been surrounding them up till now began to dark like the skies of a stormy night. A disturbing, distorted noise resounded as Celestial Hanamaru’s long hair danced in the air thanks to the sudden, powerful winds. 

And then, the malevolence before them dispersed at once. 

From the two figures that had been previously opposing her, one fell down like a lifeless corpse while the other glared directly into the seraph’s golden eyes with her clear, aqua-colored eyes.

A young girl with crimson-red hair stood before the seraph. She had the symbol of a black star on her face just under her left eye. Using the power of the gem, her clothes had changed in their entirety. Compared to the elegant uniform of The Liberation, her current costume exuded a strong sense of rebellion. 

Her clothes were black and golden with pink decorations standing out. She wore a short sleeved uniform with golden ornaments on her shoulders, resembling both the golden light of alchemy itself and giving the imposing vibe or a high ranked general. Three pink swords decorated the front, blending in with golden buttons which also spread across her short sleeves. 

On top of her head, she wore a black hat decorated by a set of feathers, resembling that of the fallen angel.

Ruby Kurosawa smiled as she closed her fist; her hands were decorated by matching black gloves that exposed her fingers with painted black nails. 

As she walked forward, her long, frilly pink skirt swayed from side to side with the wind. 

“Hanamaru.” As Ruby spoke, her voice blended with the very voice of the fallen angel. “I am going to save you.” 

A large, majestic black wing spread to her left from behind her back. 

Love Gem, a special relic with the power of Idolization, that is, to call forth a soul that matches that of the user from a separate reality and to merge them into one in order to achieve a greater power. If two souls were able to demonstrate such an incredible display of strength, what if there were more added into the mix? After all, Ruby wasn’t fighting alone. This time, the fallen angel was with her. They were fighting as one. In other words, by activating the love gem, they had gained the power of four souls. 

Of course, in order to tap deeper into this power and preventing it from falling apart, calling out an Idolization was necessary, however, under this circumstance and with the knowledge of the world that the fallen angel carried, they were well aware this wasn’t an option; otherwise there was a risk that either of them could not make it back. 

Even without calling an idolization, the power of the Love Gem was still active; all it meant is that they were running on very limited time. It was do or die, they had to finish this as soon as possible. 

_“Judgement.”_ The seraph used the power of words in order to call forth a great attack. 

Unlike their human form, it looked like once the celestial had charged up power they were able to release another incredible blast almost right away. It could even be that the previous attack had only released a tiny portion of the energy they had gathered. 

An immense surge of energy shot towards Ruby once more, engulfing everything in its path. 

But this time, she would take it head on. 

With her hand clenched into a fist, Fallen Angel Ruby shot forward at full force. The radiant blast of light was broken in half into a V-shape as particles of light flew around. Ruby moved closer and closer to the Seraph at an incredible speed. 

Being able to clearly sense the incoming danger, the Seraph stepped back in order to launch yet another attack but a flash of golden light reached their eyes. Ruby had let out the golden light of alchemy but this time that pure power was distorted and engulfed in dark Miasma. 

At that moment the Miasma spread around the Seraph and hardened, taking the shape of a long lance. Ten lances all shot towards the celestial from all directions. 

This wasn’t a simple attack. It was an attack that contained malevolence in it. If it were to make contact taking damage was inevitable, even using their wings as a shield was not a good idea. 

In that case, the Seraph was only left with the option to dodge it. Celestial Hanamaru immediately took flight, ascending higher and higher into the heavens only for Fallen Angel Ruby to give chase. Despite her black wing flapping in the skies, the demon didn’t rely on it in order to fly. After all, Fallen Angels were beings that were beyond humanity, they had access to every single element and style of magic that existed in the world, so she simply used levitation magic in order to fly freely. 

Golden light of alchemy continued to erupt in the skies, forming circles on Ruby’s feet as she continued to ascend. However, just like before, the golden light was immediately engulfed and devoured by the demonic miasma. This time instead of lances, they took the shape of a thousand arrows that all chased after the Seraph. 

The Seraph turned around in midair to glance at the upcoming projectiles, with a simple wave of their hand, multiple and smaller beams of light surrounded them and shot towards the arrows, engulfing them with its radiance. But Fallen Angel Ruby grinned in response; the extent of her abilities wasn’t this small. 

With a snap of Ruby’s fingers, lights of all colors exploded from within the seraph’s beams of light. They were coming from the arrows that had been created by the power of alchemy. This time, each arrow had been powered up with a different magical attribute. With an exploding sound they broke free from the Seraph’s attack. Trails of blue, yellow, green and purple lights all danced across the dark skies while running in circles around the celestial. 

This time, Celestial Seraph Hanamaru was not able to escape from this attack. The arrows all made direct contact with her wings and released an explosive burst with the magic they carried. The seraph was engulfed in a cage of swirling water and fire. Cutting wind ran inside in all directions while energy of earth magic and lightning all exploded inside nonstop. 

“Now!” Fallen Angel Ruby extended her hand forward. 

That’s right, it was not over yet. 

This time, she could see it clearly. 

There was still a solution; there was still a way out. 

After all, she had obtained the power of alchemy, the power of creation. It wasn’t like the power of alchemy was limiting her options before. The reasons her options had become so limited was because of her own nature. After all, humans had limited knowledge of the world. 

Humans were limited to creating what they could understand. Humans were limited to living under the already established rules of the world. Because otherwise, the world would break. It’s not like they were given an option in the first place. This is why something like alchemy was forbidden. Because creating something against the rules could break the world. But even then, even with that power, up until now no one had been able to break free. 

But that’s where alchemists were mistaken. 

They were all focusing on creating something that was still under those rules. 

But what if they were to create _new_ rules? What if they were to rewrite the system of the very world? Was something like that possible? 

Of course that was something believed that only god could do. There were still ranks even between angels and demons. The knowledge that they had wasn’t absolute. Even for a seraph there was a lot that remained a mystery, there was a lot that had no answer. So even with the Fallen Angel on her side, Ruby still didn’t have the power of god. She didn’t have the power to rewrite the world at her will, but that was okay. 

What she had now was enough. What she had now was still an option. 

After studying alchemy, it was something that Ruby always wondered. What if something that wasn’t human gained this power? What would they be capable of? What could they create? 

And she finally had an answer. After all, at that moment, she had left the realm of humanity. By combining her knowledge of alchemy and the knowledge of the fallen angel, by experiencing what it was like to have another soul in her body, she had realized something: The girl she had met known as Yoshiko and the malicious core inside her, the demon Yohane, they weren’t separate souls. They were a single soul that had split in two and was allowed to coexist inside a human body, like the two sides of a coin. 

Hanamaru on the other hand was a single soul whose true nature remained dormant and who had been allowed to manifest like a human for unknown reasons. That is why the human Hanamaru and the seraph Hanamaru could not coexist. So what if she was to split that soul in two? After all, the main core for both Angels and Demons was the same. 

Under normal circumstances it was impossible to achieve this for angels themselves, but angels were just messengers, they were observers, they were not granted the power of creation. 

With this, the golden light of alchemy illuminated the palm of Ruby’s hand. Using Miasma as material, she added one final ingredient, the core of power of the forest. It was the last remaining item with Hanamaru’s human essence in it. With this, she created a relic that couldn’t be found anywhere in this world.

The bottom of it looked like the bottom of a black treasure box decorated by golden jewels. From the bottom of the box, a golden cross was attached on top with a black rhomb in the middle. The rhomb itself was split in four sides thanks to ornaments made of pure gold. 

The rhomb represented the foundation of the world and the four sides represented the four elements of all creation. Each side of the cross symbolized the existence of each different heaven in creation, something she had only learned thanks to Fallen Angel Yohane. And in the end, the bottom of the box was meant to be a seal, an offering where Angelic energy could reside and rest in deep sleep without breaking the world apart. 

With this relic in hand, all that was left was to make the seraph come in direct contact with it. 

But…

“In order to deliver proper judgment to the impurity, I hereby declare that the force of my Arcanum will be released into 5%”

The continuous magic that had trapped the seraph was broken apart, and with that, an instant counter attack came towards Ruby. 

Even if the Seraph didn’t understand the logic behind it, judging by Ruby’s actions, they could get the gist of what the Fallen Angel was up to. In other words, she would not give her a single chance to get close. 

This time, what came towards Ruby were hundreds of beams of light, all running towards her in all directions. Holding the relic in her hand, Fallen Angel Ruby flew across the heavens, dodging everything that came her way. 

But the Seraph’s assault was just starting. Large orbs of light all flew around in circles followed by beams that swirled into all directions. The dark heavens were all illuminated by the Seraph’s power. Despite her destructive and endless assault, from a distance, it almost looked like a display of brilliant fireworks that dissipated into the distance by taking the form of pristine birds. 

Not only was it impossible to get close to Celestial Hanamaru like this, but Ruby had her hands full trying to defend herself. Even if she tried to use her alchemy to create weapons or a shield, it would be blasted away by the hundreds and hundreds of projectiles that spread into all direction across the skies. 

However, in the end, she didn’t have the leisure to dodge forever. In the midst of battle she had forgotten about an important detail, her time was limited. 

Just like that, her clothes returned to normal and the dark wing spreading behind her back dissipated into thin air. 

Ruby fell down from the sky at a high speed while holding the sacred relic she had created. 

Was it all over, just like that?

“R-Ruby…” Yohane struggled in order to get up. Her consciousness had returned to her body but she didn’t even have the strength to crawl. 

“It’s over.” The seraph declared, looking down at the girl who had no means to fight back anymore. 

No. No. Ruby couldn’t accept it. After getting so close, after doing so much. She couldn’t let it end. Didn’t she say so before? That she would do her best? It wouldn’t end like this, it wasn’t over, it wasn’t over. 

“Ruby!!! You have to do it!!!!”

Yohane screamed and with her last remaining strength, she released a great blast of wind that shot Ruby upwards in the sky and towards the Seraph.

“Why? Why do you continue to struggle like this? Why would you go so far to try and save one person who was not meant to exist in the first place?” The seraph extended out her hand towards the incoming Ruby, she would end it with one final attack.

“Because!” “Because…”

The two spoke almost in sync. 

“Because Ruby loves Hanamaru!!” “Because I love Hanamaru!!”

☆ 

One step.

One final step was all it would take. 

By falling into the endless ocean, what remained of her consciousness would come to an end. 

Everything up till now, her life up till now, it would all end. 

But… at that moment, at that final moment, their voices reached her loud and clear.

_☆_

At that moment, the Seraph found themselves unable to react. Why? Why were they being moved by something like that? Were they being affected by emotion? That was impossible. Seraphs weren’t beings created to feel emotion. The concept didn’t exist for them. This entire confrontation, it wasn’t supposed to mean anything.

But then… why did they let it get to this? If it didn’t mean anything, why did they let the confrontation happen in the first place? They could have ended everything in an instant and yet… they continued to extend their time with these girls. 

Why?

In the end, did the seraph want to spend more time with them? In the end, were they unconsciously trying to stop this from ending?

Maybe… just maybe, staying around could help them reach a proper answer. 

The moment the seraph reached this conclusion, their will to fight back came to an end. 

And so, Ruby was able to reach her at last. 

With a radiant glow, the relic activated.

That endless heaven that had surrounded them came to an end.

☆ 

Time began to run once more.

With the presence of the seraph gone, the broken world began to put itself together. All the platforms that were suspended across an endless void all began descending, taking their place on solid ground like putting together the pieces of a puzzle. 

But even then, the actions that had begun to take place at that moment continued to run their course. 

Chika ran towards Riko while the power of Dark Matter surrounded her. The princess who had been taken over by one of the A-RISE generals released an immense amount of wind magic; it was so powerful, so immense, that her very body would break at this rate. 

However, lured in by the Dark Matter, Anju who was possessed by a demonic entity flew towards Chika while carrying Alisa with one of her arms. 

Kanan’s group had arrived in time to witness the event, but no matter how fast they ran, she and Seira wouldn’t be able to make it in time. 

The end result would be decided in an instant. 

The sound of space itself being warped, the sound of Dark Matter devouring magical power, loudly spread across the world as it all came back in place. 

And then, it was followed by a loud, disturbing scream of pain. 

That scream had come from Anju who was never able to reach the orange haired girl. At the moment of impact, Yukiho, one of the imperial commanders had jumped up and sunk her knee deep into the demon’s chest. The impact had been so powerful that the sound of bones cracking inside Anju’s body reached Alisa’s ears. 

Alisa couldn’t catch up with what happened, before she knew it, she was not with Anju anymore. 

“It’s alright now.” Yukiho’s voice reached her.

As her consciousness finally faded away, the last thing the long haired blonde was able to see was Yukiho’s smiling face. 

And as the imperial commander landed on solid ground while holding her fiancée in her arms, the powerful surging wind that was spreading throughout the place came to a sudden stop. 

With the world back to how it was meant to be, Chika stood in the middle of the imperial garden while tightly embracing the princess. Some parts of the garden were destroyed. Signs of the confrontation that had taken place remained. However, looking at the landscape before them and feeling the fresh breeze of the afternoon, it told everyone that they were back to the regular world.

The power of Dark Matter had effectively cancelled out Riko’s magic and severed her connection with Erena. But that power did not take over or cause her pain. Instead, the moment it made contact, it all rushed back into Chika’s gloves, just like the time she had confronted the fallen angel. 

Chika breathed heavily without letting go of Riko. She had just taken a major gamble. There was no guarantee that it would work out, there was no telling if she would be able to control her power. In fact, she still had no idea of what she had done; it was all thanks to her instincts. Chika’s heart was beating fast, unlike her other confrontations the thought of hurting those who were close to her had made this one of the scariest ones.

“Chika…?” Riko felt disoriented. She rested her head on Chika’s shoulders while her arms hung limply to the side. 

“It’s okay.” Chika’s voice cracked a little. “It’s all okay now.”

The wine-red haired princess couldn’t understand why, but being in Chika’s arms like this made her feel like everything was truly okay now. It felt reassuring and warm, even while standing in the place she loathed so much, even while being in the place that she didn’t want to visit once again, she felt safe. 

“My, my. Isn’t this wonderful?” 

A voice that made everyone shudder spoke. Anju, the demon who had collapsed deeper in the garden had made her way back. While under possession, she was not able to use her healing magic to make all of her wounds disappear. However, that wasn’t about to stop her. In fact, she was ready to embrace this new experience. 

While Seira looked after a sleeping Mari and the fallen captain, Kanan, Dia and Ria stepped forward. They stood in front of Chika and everyone else, ready to confront the imminent threat.

“Isn’t this fantastic?!” Anju laughed. “To think you would all get this far, it’s beautiful. Are you enjoying your happy endings? You can’t leave me out of the fun; it’s just getting sta- No- No!! NO!! Erena, what are you-?!”

There was a sudden change in Anju’s expression, even the way she moved was unnatural, it was like she was struggling against something. 

“You aren’t thinking clearly anymore, that is enough.” The one who spoke through Anju’s body was Erena.

“You have to be kidding me!! I can still-!!” 

“We are retreating.”

Even if the one who spoke through her was Erena, looking at Anju argue with herself as she collapsed on the ground was a disturbing sight. After all, she had not lost control of her own will even while possessed by a demon. And yet, Erena had taken over with no effort at all. 

“As if I would let you get away after all that.” 

Yukiho stepped forward after gently letting Alisa down on the grass. This time, the world had returned to normal which meant Yukiho’s power was not disrupted anymore; she could use her full force to destroy the enemy before her. 

But then, contrary to what anyone expected, there was another sudden change. 

The place where they stood became surrounded by a black space with pink and purple grids running across it. It wasn’t any kind of magic Yukiho could understand but it was not the same sensation of the broken world either. 

As if walking out of thin air from within the strange space, a tall girl with long wavy hair appeared before her, standing just a few steps behind Anju. 

“S-Sister!!” 

Haruka who had remained behind the group up till now ran forward. She still had some injuries from the past battle but the sight of her sister gave her enough strength to keep moving.

But she received no response. 

Kanata simple stepped forward without showing any expressions on her face. And with a sudden motion, her fist sank deep into Anju’s gut.

“W…why…” Anju collapsed losing all consciousness.

“S-Sis?”

“Y-You are?!” Riko who still clearly remembered her was shocked.

“…” 

But Kanata gave her no response. She simply picked up Anju by grabbing her hair and gave her back to everyone.

“Tch.” Yukiho decided it wasn’t the time to stand there and wait, she had to stop them while she still could. 

“Don’t worry.” Kanata spoke with a malicious voice. “I will properly crush you soon enough.”

Just as sudden as she had appeared, the environment returned to normal. 

Both Kanata and Anju were nowhere to be found. 

After having faced two deadly enemies head on, everyone had managed to survive. And yet... a disturbing sensation of danger still loomed in the air, adding pressure to their hearts. After all, they had barely made it this time.

A cold breeze ran by and silence enveloped the garden where everyone stood. 

But even in the midst of such situation, three figures descended on the garden from high atop the heavens.

Two pristine and radiant wings gently flapped across the air as they flew across the clear skies. 

A young girl with long chestnut hair held the two girls who had passed out with her arms. They clung unto her, resting their heads on her shoulders as if they had fallen asleep. Their figures became shrouded by radiant light as the sun descended in the horizon, tinting the skies with beautiful shades of red and orange.

Even now, another day had come to an end.

_**End of Act 1**_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so, we finally reached the end of this arc! This arc was much longer than anything before, but as you can tell I also wanted it to be a closing act for the first part of the story. I wanted to give it a similar feeling to the final episode of an anime season. Or if this were a game, then Seraph Hanamaru would have been the last boss of the first game! 
> 
> I hope you all had a fun time, thank you for reading all the way here!
> 
> After reaching the end of the first act, Thrilling☆Sunshine is going to take a one week break! I feel like it is an appropriate point to do it and that way I can also catch up with other things I need to do.
> 
> **EDIT: Thrilling ☆ Sunshine will remain on hiatus for one more week! A new update will come the day of the 1 Year Anniversary: June 27th! This will also mark the start of Act 2 of the story! ☆
> 
> ☆
> 
> ☆ If you like my work, please check out my original story: [Scarlet Finale!](https://www.honeyfeed.fm/novels/687) I will really appreciate it if you can make an account on that website (it's fast and easy!) and leave me any likes/comments over there, your support means a lot to me!
> 
> ☆ And if you want to keep track of me or just talk, I'm always on twitter [@YukiSetsuna](https://twitter.com/YukiSetsuna)


	49. Pianoforte Monologue - Part 1

_A wide arrange of sounds flow out from within me. They aren’t all wonderful but a kind melody joins from somewhere. It blends in with my dreams and tears, forming a concerto._

_“Has it been slumbering all this time? The passion within my heart.”_

_☆_

A young, little girl looked outside a window that stood tall at twice her height. She was able to get a glimpse at the canvas of the vast skies painted in a clear blue. The freedom from the outside world contrasted the world in which she lived. Even if the room where she stood was quite big, these four walls surrounded her like a cage. 

However, it wasn’t that she was isolated. It wasn’t that she was really trapped here. If she wanted to step into the outside world, there was nothing stopping her. She had willingly chosen to stay in here. After all…

The outside world was scary.

The outside world?

How could something she had never seen with her own eyes be scary? How did she learn the concept of a world she had never dreamt of? 

The answer was both sad and simple. 

Because she was raised that way. 

Because ever since she had memory, she had been taught that she should never leave. She had been taught that the world beyond those walls existed only to hurt her. She had been taught that she was happy this way. 

Had it been anyone else, they would be sad by hearing these words. Had it been anyone else, they would have felt trapped, oppressed, they would have fought against it, unable to accept it. 

If you were to ask a certain girl who had accepted she was nothing special, who had embraced the title of being a “normal monster,” she would tell you that she’d love to see the world beyond her reach. She would cling unto that world as a way to escape the everyday life that had taken hold of her. 

If you were to ask a certain sailor girl who had stepped into unknown lands and who grew up by going on expeditions, looking for treasure and exploring part of the vast world, she would tell you how fun and full of adventures everything was. 

Neither would ever accept to live the rest of their lives caged up. Neither would be scared of that which they could not reach. 

But it wasn’t the same for the princess. 

She didn’t question it, she didn’t fight against it and she didn’t even have any conflicting emotions about it. If she was told that living in a cage was for her own good, all she could do was to accept it. After all, why should she question something she knew nothing about? 

In that case… was this true freedom?

Was she really willingly trapped here, or was she trapped here because that’s what had been programmed into her mind from the very start? 

In the end, there was no way for her to know that she didn’t have anything such as free will. 

It wasn’t just about the outside world; it was about everything in her life. Contrary to what she was led to believe, she was never given any option to make her own choices. 

From the very start of the day, she was surrounded by maids and guards of the imperial forces. To her, they were all kind, to her, they all cared about her, and they were always there for her. To her, they always knew what was best for her. 

So she never once questioned it.  
She never once questioned why none would ever talk to her outside of the times they gave her orders of what to do, what clothes to wear today or where to go, of course, all within the walls of the imperial palace. 

She never once questioned why none would ever give her so much as a simple smile. Their expressions were always stern and neutral, as expected of members of the imperial family. Having emotions was unnecessary. Just like the princess, they had all been programmed in order to carry their jobs. There was no need for anything else. 

And at the same time, the princess had been raised the same way. 

That is why she never questioned why she could never make a connection with anyone. 

The concept of human connections, of friendships, of relationships, it was all foreign to her. 

But even then, she was still human. Even then, her heart still cried out in loneliness. And even then, she couldn’t understand what that pain meant. It was a pain that she had normalized, a pain that she herself ignored.

All she could do about it was to assume that it was normal, that this was just part of living. 

Could this really be called living? To experience a life like this, a life where every day was the same, where everything was dictated by somebody else, a lonely life without free will. To be alive while only being the puppet of the palace. To have the title of “princess” seal your fate from the very start. To never have been given any other chances or any other options. 

And worst of all, a life where she didn’t have the ability to question any of this. Was she really alive? 

The only times where she would be allowed to smile where the times anyone of importance would visit the palace. It was an etiquette that had been forced on her without any proper explanations behind it. That’s why she had learned to connect the concept of “smiles” as a simple sign of politeness. It was nothing but a sign of hospitality for guests. 

So whenever anyone came to visit all they would see was a happy and friendly young princess. No one was ever to learn the truth and even if they did their answer would be cold and simple: “This is how royalty is like after all.” 

It was a future that would be accepted by anyone no matter what.

But then, something changed. 

Was it a turn dictated by destiny or was it something that had destroyed destiny? 

It was the middle of the afternoon. As usual, after having to sit through a long lecture on the use of magic she had been sent back to her room. Upon stepping out of a large door and into one of the main corridors, she looked to her sides and noticed something was off. The maids that would be usually there to escort her were nowhere to be found. The imperial guards that would often be patrolling the area were nowhere to be found either. 

Were they all busy? Did they forget to come pick her up?

Come to think of it, starting today, there was a new teacher at the palace, the one that she received the lecture from just now. Being faced with a situation that broke the usual cycle, possibly for the first time in her life, she was faced with having to take a decision. 

What should she do?

The most logical option was to wait, but she felt somewhat nervous by simply standing here. The second option was to go back to her teacher and explain the situation but… that was also scary. For one she felt like she would just be a huge inconvenience. Inconveniencing people was something that had become strictly forbidden for her; there was no way she could do something like that. But then… what if the maids were out there looking for her? Was she being an inconvenience right now as well?

Maybe it was her fault, maybe she made a mistake somewhere along the way. Of course, that had to be only option. After all, every time a mistake was made, it was always her fault. It was never anyone else’s. And of course, it was her responsibility to make up for that mistake. 

Maybe she had been left alone like this in order to make her take responsibility, maybe it was some kind of punishment. Was it because she didn’t finish her meal yesterday? Was it because she failed at activating her magic again in class? Or maybe because of falling over earlier and making her snow white dress dirty. 

That had to be it. She was making way too many mistakes lately. This was all her fault. She had been abandoned at the palace as a punishment. In the end, that was the conclusion she reached. 

In that case, her only option was to take responsibility. With this, she moved a step forward into the corridor. The moment she did, her heart started beating faster. Even after reaching her conclusion the thought of doing something wrong was starting to make her more and more nervous. She couldn’t do anything wrong, she wasn’t allowed to. She had to be perfect. 

Even if all she had to do was to return to her bedroom, this felt like an eternity. She hadn’t realized it before, but now that she was alone she noticed how immense the imperial palace was. It felt as though the pristine white walls and pure gold ornaments that decorated the place extended infinitely into the horizon. No matter how much she walked, she continued to see nothing but the same high-class environment. 

For the first time, as she moved onward she felt like a trapped animal surrounded by a cage with no escape. She felt lightheaded and it got harder to breath with every new step. What was this sensation? She wasn’t able to understand at all. She was scared and anxious. This was terrible. At this rate… what if she passed out in the middle of the palace? That would be terrible. That would be an inconvenience to everyone. She couldn’t allow that. And yet… it felt as though her body would give out on her. 

What is this? Why were her hands getting so cold? Why was her body trembling? She couldn’t understand what was happening to her. All she could do was to accept it. Accept it as part of her punishment. Maybe she deserved this. That’s right, this was happening because she deserved it. She accepted that in a heartbeat. This happened because she was being an inconvenience. This is what happened whenever she failed to be perfect. 

In other words, following everyone’s orders was to prevent this from happening, right? Everyone always knew what was the best for her and they were trying to prevent this, right? Of course. Everyone was so nice and caring after all. From the Queen to the imperial guards and the maids that took care of her, they all cared deeply about her. That had to be it. 

So it couldn’t be helped. This was her fault and no one else’s. She had to deal with this alone. She had to make it no matter how much her body screamed for help. That was the only way she could repay them. She had to repay them, she had to prove herself. 

Because… because… she didn’t deserve their kindness. If you were to ask her that would be her truthful answer. That she didn’t deserve for everyone to always look after her, she didn’t deserve anything. She was just a failure, someone who could barely keep up with what was asked from her. Why would anyone put up with someone like this? Why was everyone else still there for her? 

Maybe because they were all too good, because they were all too kind. Even if she had to live with the title of “princess” she was convinced that anyone else would be more suited to become one. She didn’t really feel like a princess, she didn’t even know what the title truly entailed. The only thing she had come to learn is that being a princess equated with having to be perfect, that was all there was to it. She was living because she had to become perfect. 

In the end, even though she would be willing to share her thoughts without reserve, no one ever learned this, because no one ever asked for her thoughts in the first place. But this was okay. Her thoughts didn’t matter after all. 

These kind of emotions were only keeping her from being perfect, they were unnecessary. 

And then, a door opened for her. 

In the midst of her turmoil, she opened a door, entering the room by the end of the corridor. At the moment, she was very certain that she had made it back to her bedroom. She closed the door behind her, plopping down into the floor and letting out a long sigh of relief. She had finally made it, she could finally rest. 

After a few seconds, she stood up, taking a proper look at the room before her. She could immediately tell she had been mistaken, this wasn’t her room at all. But her attention was driven somewhere else, something inside that room had managed to distract her enough to stop her from panicking. 

At the end of the wide and empty room, there was what looked like a large black box next to the window. Or at least, that’s the only thing Riko could think of when seeing what was before her, she had never seen anything like it before. 

That which appeared before her was illuminated by the sun rays that entered the window. It shone radiantly in the midst of that dark room, like the light that illuminates the main star in the midst of a performance. 

Step by step the young princess approached the musical instrument. There was no way for her to tell but there were traces which proved someone had been here not long ago. But that didn’t matter, for just a moment, she felt as though she was the only person who remained in this world. 

And so, she sat on the seat just in front of the piano. It was as though she was in a trance. She couldn’t take her eyes away for even a second. Why was this drawing her in like this? Why did it feel like it was calling out to her? She couldn’t find an explanation but if someone were to ask her, her answer would be that felt a special connection to it. 

“A special connection?” 

She spoke her thoughts out loud. It was something that had come into her mind but… what was that? At the moment, she understood the concept but it soon became foreign to her once again. What is a special connection? What was this sensation that burned deeply inside her chest? If what she felt while making her way here was that she was being punished, this felt like the reverse of that. It felt like she was being rewarded.

“But why…?”

If this was truly a reward, was it okay to accept it?

Was she really worth of such thing?

Just like usual, her mind was quickly clouded by a sudden surge of negative thoughts. 

But then-

-Plink!-

A sudden sound snapped her out of her thoughts. 

It was a sound that she had unwillingly caused the moment her fingers reached for the keyboard. While lost in thought, she had pressed one of the keys, releasing a high note. 

Riko froze on the spot while staring at her own hands. How did she cause that to happen? Even if it was a single sound, it felt like something had touched the very core of her soul. Was she able to do something like that again? 

This time, she didn’t question whether or not it was okay for her to try. Her curiosity got the best of her. Lured in more and more by the musical instrument, her fingers reached for the keyboard once again, playing another high note. 

She wasn’t able to stop. 

Her fingers continued to move, as if moving on their own, playing note after note in the piano. Soon, the sounds that played one after the other had begun to take shape and created a melody. Even if the melody itself was awkward and had a strange pacing, for Riko, it felt as though she had given birth to the most powerful symphony in the world. 

All the negativity in her head, all of the heavy sensations pressuring down her heart, it was all drowned away by the song that came out of the piano. 

How could you call something like this? Even if she was capable of doing this, she didn’t know what the concept of music was. It was the first time in her life that she got to listen to a song, and it was a song that had been created by her own hands. 

The princess closed her eyes, allowing herself to be carried by the flow of the nostalgic melody. It was a melody that carried the feelings in her heart. A melody filled with loneliness, a melody that remained perfect before breaking in the end thanks to hitting the wrong notes, a melody that was all over the place before moving back into a perfect flow. 

For the first time in her life, a new thought had surfaced in the depths of her mind. A thought that was all her own, something that wasn’t forced on her by anyone else. Something born truthfully from her free will. Something that could finally prove that she was alive, that she existed here, that her heart had still not rotted away. Something that proved all of her emotions were not lost. 

(I don’t want this to end.) 

Her heart was right here. Her feelings were right here. 

A single teardrop landed on the keyboard of that radiant piano as a cold breeze entered from the window. 

For the first time in her life, she was able to experience both joy and sadness. 

Even if she didn’t know how to explain this properly, for the first time in her life, she had realized that she was her own person. She had realized that she had the power to choose what she wanted to do. 

And then, the melody came to end. 

This realization had come at the cost of new found pressure. 

If she had the choice to do something she wanted without anyone else telling her to, then… what has she been doing up till now? Was the way she has been living her life up till now correct? Was everything okay like this? 

Even though it made her feel guilty to think about these things, she couldn’t stop her sudden and new train of thought. 

What was the correct way to live life?

Was it okay to follow everyone’s orders? Of course that had to be the right way. Everyone was really caring after all. They were all working hard to turn her into someone perfect. 

But…

What if it wasn’t? 

What if she was supposed to make her own choices? 

Going further down this train of thought was scary. All the implications that followed this path were scary. 

Take the maids for example, they always followed the orders of the lead maid. 

Take the imperial guards for example, they always followed the orders of the commander. 

And even those people on top always followed the orders of the queen. 

But there had been someone that was different. Someone that she had only met today, her new magic teacher. Even if their actions were regular and simple, she had been able to notice right away: they didn’t seem to be following anyone’s orders. 

From the get go, the one who picked her up and took her out of her room earlier weren’t the maids, it was her teacher. 

After failing to activate her magic once again, she wasn’t scolded. 

Up until now she absolutely hated going to magic class. Of course, it’s not something she was willing to accept so easily, or tell anyone else. But she was still human, and there was just so much that she could take. 

Activating her magic had become one of her biggest obstacles towards following orders and meeting everyone’s expectations. No matter how much she tried, she just couldn’t get it to activate. Even though she tried really hard, even though she would spend hours and hours learning everything in her books, she couldn’t put it to practice at all. 

In turn, this earned her to get harshly scolded by her teachers, to the point some of them would even get physical and harm her under the excuse of “I was only putting you in danger to help you awaken your magic faster.” 

Constantly trying and trying to achieve the same thing with no results was frustrating. Constantly having high expectations out of everyone around you and not being able to meet them was frustrating. After all, she could see it in their expression. It wasn’t only the teacher; it was everyone who lived with her. They always looked at her with disdain. 

Up till now, she assumed it was just natural. She was the princess after all. And not only that but her mother, the queen, was able to use absurdly powerful magic with relative ease. She had been said to awaken her magic at an even earlier age. So… why couldn’t Riko do it too? Was it because she was a failure? That’s what all of her teachers said after all. 

But this time it was different. Once she had failed to use her magic again, her new teacher had treated her with care. At the moment, Riko closed her eyes, waiting for an inevitable slap to come her way, but that never happened. Instead, she received a soft pat on the head. 

_“If you can’t do it right now, you can’t do it. I was also stuck for a while and look at me now, I’m here teaching you! Just take it easy, okay?”_

And with that, today’s lesson had ended. 

Even though she had no proof, this alone was a lot to tell her this teacher wasn’t following orders. Wait… it wasn’t even about orders. This person had accepted that there was a time where they were in the same situation. In other words, there was a time where they were not perfect. They had accepted that in a carefree manner and without any shame at all. 

Did that mean that it was okay not to be perfect? It was something acceptable? 

Then… why is she being pushed like this by everyone? 

Why does she have to follow everyone’s orders?

If living like this was wrong… then was everyone bad after all?

But above all, her final realization was the most painful one of them all. If she had been living her life the wrong way up till now then, all of her life up till now had been a waste. Everything up till now was an error. 

And if it was okay to not be perfect then…

“Why am I living for?”

The red wine haired princess stood up, walking away from the piano with pain in her heart. She didn’t know what to do with these thoughts, she couldn’t tell whether anything was right or wrong, but for now, there wasn’t anything she could do. 

It didn’t matter whether she had been living her life the right or wrong way, for now; there was no escape from that. Everything would still remain the same. 

If she had to make one wish, it was to experience the joy she felt as she played the piano just one last time. But for now, it was time to return to her room and go back to her same old life. 

That’s where she was wrong. 

Her life had already started to change in more ways than one. 

The door leading into the music room opened once again. Riko was not able to do anything as someone walked inside. 

“Oh? So you are interested in playing piano as well?” 

The one who stood before her was her new teacher. A woman with shoulder length red hair and violet eyes. 

This was the start of a new symphony.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for waiting. 
> 
> Today marks the 1 Year Anniversary of Thrilling ☆ Sunshine! Thank you so much for your support along this journey. This is also the start of another year full of weekly updates!! (And yep, this would be the chapter where the opening song changes again!)
> 
>  
> 
> _☆_  
>  ☆☆ SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT ☆☆ 
> 
> I have decided to add a little incentive for any other content creators that are following this story! I will open a "special recommendation" section where I will promote your story or artworks! On top of that I will also check out your story and leave a comment with my thoughts over there. *
> 
> This section will be posted once a month under the author comments. 
> 
> So what are the requirements in order to make it into this section? It's simple! 
> 
> 1\. Please help me by supporting my original story as well, [Scarlet Finale!](https://www.honeyfeed.fm/novels/687)
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> 2\. All you need to do is to leave likes on my chapters over there and leave me a comment if possible. (*If you leave likes on my chapters there, I will feature your story here. If you leave me a comment, I will comment on your own story! And if you do both, I'll do both!) 
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> 4\. I will post the special recommendation section starting next week, meaning you have until then to make it in! (*Explicit rated stories will not be featured) 
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> If you are interested in my story and want to check some more, here is a thread where I will be posting the [character designs!](https://twitter.com/YukiSetsuna/status/1001576688327778305) All the artwork there is by me! 
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> If you have any questions, feel free to message me on twitter [@YukiSetsuna](https://twitter.com/YukiSetsuna)


	50. Pianoforte Monologue - Part 2

Riko was caught off guard. She really didn’t expect someone to find her here. But more than anything, it kicked her mind back into her usual train of thought: she shouldn’t be here. What was she doing? She was supposed to return to her room, but somewhere along the way she had made her own choice to stay here. Even if part of her had started to tell her that making her own choices was okay, all of the patterns that had been initially burnt into her brain by everyone weren’t so easy to overwrite. Even if part of her mind told her that reaching out for her freedom and living her life was the right thing to do, the strong sensation of dread for going against what everyone expected from her still drowned her heart. 

If anything, this had also given birth to a new conflict. For the first time ever, she felt trapped by what were her “normal” thoughts. For the first time ever, she wanted to get away from them, but, she couldn’t. The more she tried not to think about it the more everything weighted on her heart. It all pressed against her chest, asphyxiating her, making her want nothing but to shut down, but she couldn’t. If she had the choice to disappear and leave this world at that moment, she wouldn’t hesitate to take it, but she couldn’t. 

And yet.

_“The door of dreams, I have always been searching for it. I've been searching for a connection between you and me.”_

A beautiful, peaceful, singing voice accompanied by a radiant and colorful melody shut down all of Riko’s negative thoughts and sensations in just an instant.

Huh? What had she been doing just now? Riko had become so engulfed in her thoughts that she had stopped to pay attention to all the images her eyes were witnessing up till now. She had lost all control over her body and over her consciousness. Now that she was finally snapped awake, she was standing up in front of the piano. But now, there was someone sitting next to her. 

Riko’s initial impression had been that she was scary, after all, everyone was. Come to think of it, it’s not like she was always following orders with a happy smile on her face. Or rather, that’s the response that she was taught to give everyone, but in truth, she had been living while completely terrified of life itself. She had lived every second in fear, wondering what she would be ordered to do next, what new expectation she would have to carry now. She had to make sure to never betray anyone’s expectations, after all, that was not allowed. She had to be the perfect princess. She had to be perfect because otherwise, she was useless; because otherwise, she was just a waste of space; because otherwise, no one would ever love her.

But this was strange, even if she was always so scared of everyone. Even if she thought this person would hurt her… what is this sensation? For the first time in her life, Riko was experiencing something new. For the first time, she felt safe. She felt like nothing bad would ever happen as long as this person was here. Her presence was so powerful, so overwhelming, that just standing next to her made Riko’s chest burn. 

That wasn’t all, this melody…

“What is… this?” The young princess spoke out the first thought that came into her mind. 

The person who sat beside her stopped the piano. She was much older than the little princess and even if she wasn’t royalty, she gave Riko the impression of a powerful queen. Her glossy hair of bright red color complimented her radiant violet eyes extremely well. Even if she was a teacher, the way she dressed resembled a magician instead. It was thanks to her long black coat and red shirt, decorated by a white ribbon with a bright red rose on top. 

The magician then turned around to face Riko, her eyes locked into Riko’s bright honey colored eyes. But even if this person had a powerful piercing stare, it didn’t scare the princess. 

“It’s a song that makes one realize everyone's importance all over again.”

“Everyone’s… importance?” Even if it was such a simple answer, Riko couldn’t grasp the meaning behind it at all.

Being born and raised in royalty, Riko has been taught that the one who held the most importance was the queen. When it came down to it, no one in the world could ever be more important than her. That is why she had to do her best, because she was the princess, she was the daughter of the most important person to ever exist. That’s why she couldn’t fail her. And that’s why she had to listen to everyone, because they were always working hard so that she wouldn’t disappoint the queen. But even then… next to the queen… all these people didn’t matter. That’s how it was supposed to be, but thinking about it, did Riko ever feel that way? Of course not. 

If it wasn’t thanks to everyone, this place wouldn’t be able to function. The palace wouldn’t be safe if it wasn’t thanks to the imperial guards. No one, including the queen would have any way to obtain any meals if it wasn’t because of all the people working at the kitchen. This massive palace wouldn’t be so clean if it wasn’t thanks to the maids. 

Even the old lady who tended the flowers in the garden was important to keep this place as beautiful as it was. Every single person here had added meaning to the world, it was thanks to all of them that Riko was able to live with all the commodities she had. 

So then… after realizing this… what could she do with this information? What was the truth? This contradicted every single thing that she had been taught, but no matter how you saw it, there was no way than that was the absolute truth. Did this mean everyone around her was wrong? Would Riko be the only one in the right after reaching this conclusion? No, that would be too conceited. Just what should she believe in? 

“Do you want to hear the rest of the song?”

Riko rapidly nodded twice. Just how did this person manage to bring her out from within that sea of negativity with so much ease? Just who was really this person?

“Do you want to play it together?”

To play it together? Wait… she was given a question where she could make a choice? The usual was to receive commands like “do this,” or “don’t do that,” but this was the first time someone asked “do you want to do this?” Of course, with this chance before her, Riko wanted to stay true to her heart. Beyond any of her thoughts and beyond any reason, she wanted to listen to this burning, beating heart instead. 

“I… want to. I want to play it together with teacher, if that’s okay.”

“I already told you, didn’t I? You can just call me Maki.” With this, the red haired teacher clapped her hands together and a second seat appeared next to her out of thin air. “Come here, I will guide you.”

Giving another nod, Riko sat down next to her. Back at her class and just now, Riko couldn’t help but to think of how impressive Maki’s magic was. Even after seeing the queen herself use hers, even if everyone at the palace always used theirs, this was something completely different. The princess couldn’t understand why, but her heart was filled with joy just from watching her use magic, even if it was something as simple as this. 

Maki Nishikino took off the white gloves that covered her hands and placed them on top of the piano. Riko couldn’t tell if it was her imagination or not, but it definitely felt as though Maki had moved closer, as though her seat had moved across the floor. 

“Let’s begin.” 

These words sent Riko’s heart into a nonstop frenzy. The moment Maki touched her hands with her soft fingers, the princess stopped breathing for a second. A strange and powerful warmth spread from Maki’s fingertips and across all of Riko’s body. 

While engulfed by this sensation, Riko’s fingers had reached for the piano’s keyboard and a new melody had started. This time, the melody had perfect rhythm. This time, it was a lot more colorful. 

To Riko, this felt as though she had crossed the door of dreams itself. It was like she had entered a whole new world. That lonely room had been painted by all kinds of colors, filled with shooting stars that danced across the air and rainbows that spread from one place to the other. 

The flow of the melody touched Riko’s heart in more ways than one. She wanted this to last forever, but at the same time, she lost herself in this new world of music.

The door of dreams. A song that made one realize everyone’s importance. 

Before this all began, what had Riko’s goal been? To be loved, to be cared for, that was all she wanted. But that had been lost somewhere along the way. “I want to be loved,” had changed into “I don’t deserve to be loved.” “I want to be cared for,” had changed into “I don’t deserve anyone’s kindness.” “I want to be happy,” had changed into “I have to meet everyone’s expectations, no matter the cost.” 

But at the very end, Riko was still human. That meant that no matter how much her thoughts had become intoxicated by the environment around her, deep inside, her human heart was still asking for help. 

Thinking that she was conceited by realizing that everyone was wrong wasn’t the way to look at it. After all, Riko wasn’t the only one who had a different mindset. This new person that had come into her life, the one who had shown her a beautiful symphony, she clearly shared the same believes. Everyone was important in their own way. 

It wasn’t that everyone was wrong, it was that just like Riko, everyone needed help. Everyone needed someone to be there and realize how worthy they were, how important they were. Of course, living in that situation, the one who had that duty was the Queen. But the Queen had taken no action to fulfill such duty. 

Then… it wasn’t that everyone was wrong, the one who was wrong was the Queen. The reason everything had developed the way it did was because of her actions. The reason Riko had ended up living this kind of life was because of her. 

After being able to reason with her own thoughts, Riko knew there was no denying that. The Queen was wrong. 

Did this mean that she hated the queen? No. In fact, it was still someone she looked up to. It was still the person she had been working so hard for all this time. If anything, what if the Queen needed help too? What if she was taking the wrong actions because she had not seen the light of the truth yet? What if she was simply mistaken? 

Then… could the princess do something about it? 

After all, everyone was important, including Riko Sakurauchi herself. The realization that she had reached was that everyone had a goal to fulfill, including herself. 

If anyone had told her that this was the goal she had to accomplish before, she would have been at a loss of what to do. Even if someone had given her the order to do it before, she wouldn’t have known where to start. 

But she had finally found out a way to get through to others, she had finally found a way to reach other’s hearts.

Music. 

This colorful world that had been born thanks to this powerful melody. It had been something so powerful, so touching that it easily opened Riko’s mind. It had finally allowed her to see a bigger picture; it had finally allowed her to make her own choices. 

And thanks to the person that had appeared before her, this was a melody that was born from Riko’s feelings. After all, even now, the one who was playing the piano was herself. Even if she didn’t realize it, her teacher had let go of her hands some time ago, but even then, Riko’s fingers continued moving in perfect sync. She was able to create this colorful world all on her own. 

Maki observed the young princess with a smile on her face. It was as though she had managed to discover Riko’s true self. And that’s when it happened; there had been a change in that colorful world. A pleasant breeze started to run inside the room, spinning in circles, dancing across to the rhythm of Riko’s fingers. 

The doors and windows to the room were closed, that breeze wasn’t coming from outside. Maki was able to tell right away. This was Riko’s very essence; it was her magic which had finally been released into a powerful tornado that swayed around the room. Of course, Riko’s didn’t even realize it, she was too busy pouring all of her heart in that song, reaching for a new path before her, a path she would make on her own. 

At that moment, the red haired magician could only think one thing: as long as someone like that existed in this world, she had nothing to worry about. 

And so, the song came to an end.

The wind running across the room slowly calmed down, fading away.

Once the song was over, Maki gave the princess a pat on the head. For the first time in her life, Riko was smiling from the bottom of her heart.

“Well? How was that?”

“It was amazing!” Riko’s eyes immediately lit up. “I also want to… touch people’s hearts like this, using this-”

But the young princess was never able to finish her sentence.

“Princess! What are you doing here?!” Two maids who had been searching for her across the palace suddenly stormed into the room. 

Riko’s face went pale in panic.

Maki on the other hand sighed; she placed the palm of her hand on Riko’s shoulder and snapped her fingers. With that simple action, an explosion of colorful confetti filled the room, making both maids jump in surprise. 

Once it had all fallen to the floor, neither the magician nor the princess were anywhere to be found anymore.

_☆_

“Geez, this place sure is lifeless as ever.” A voice spoke as someone walked around the imperial garden. “I know we are supposed to listen to the queen and all but this is way different than back then.”

The one who walked across the garden was the current imperial commander. After the previous commander left, the palace continued to replace them nonstop, for some reason, none seemed to last for long enough, that’s why she decided to take over for the time being. However, accomplishing as much as the original commander wasn’t something that easy, it was a lot of pressure for anyone.

At the moment she wasn’t too worried about her job however. Even if she had been living in the palace for two weeks now, she still couldn’t get used to this environment. The atmosphere was always so heavy; it was almost like living inside a graveyard full of zombies. Everyone from the royal guards to the maids was so lifeless.

“Maybe I should do something about it. Hmm? Maybe I could become the new queen! Yes, it would be perfectly fitting for someone like me ehehehe.” 

“Stop joking around, you know that isn’t possible.” Maki scolded her. She had appeared out of thin air alongside the princess.

“W-W-Whaaaa?! Don’t scare me like that!!!” The imperial commander fell to the ground in surprise. 

Riko was immediately able to notice this wasn’t someone she had ever seen before. Was there a new commander at the palace? It’s not like she was really accustomed to the previous ones or knew anything about them but seeing a new face was surprising.

The imperial commander was much shorter in comparison to Maki. She had really beautiful black hair tied up into pigtails that reached the length of her shoulders. Once she stood up and glanced at Riko, she was immediately met with piercing red eyes. Even though they felt filled with kindness, at the same time, it felt like they were looking deep into her soul. 

The commander stood up and re-adjusted her long white cape. She dressed like a knight, fitting for the commander of the imperial guard. Her red clothes matched with the color of her eyes and diamond-like decorations adorned the edges of her cape as well as that of her blue skirt. 

“Wait a moment.” The black haired girl brought a hand to her chin while looking intently at Riko. “Maki! You did it!!”

“Eh? Did what?!”

“You kidnapped the princess! That’s it! We can finally start our coup d’etat!”

“We are not doing that!!”

“Hmph, fine! Then I guess I’ll just have to do it on my own.”

“Nico.” Maki placed a hand on her shoulder and glared into her eyes. “I wonder what Eli will have to say once she hears what the current commander wants to do.”

“T-That’s not fair! Why did you have to bring her into this?!”

“Because you are still behaving like a five year old.” Maki shrugged.

“What was that?!”

“You heard me!!”

“Why you!!”

Riko stood there, dumbfounded as she looked at both girls. She wasn’t even questioning how did she make it all the way here in the first place. She was so distracted by looking at both argue with each other as they pulled on each other’s cheeks. It was something she had never seen in the castle before. Even though they were fighting and arguing like kids, they seemed to be enjoying it? Riko couldn’t sense a single trace of aggressiveness or real anger coming from them. 

To make this kind of connections with others… was that something she would be able to do one day?

The two girls who were arguing suddenly came to a stop. They turned around to look at the princess who had started to laugh her heart out while watching them. Looking at such a scene, they couldn’t really bring themselves to keep arguing any longer.

_☆_

“Hm? So that’s why you brought the princess with you.” Nico stopped for a moment to think. “I know I said this several times before, but I really don’t like the atmosphere this place has now.”

Riko strolled the imperial garden along with them, the princess stood in the middle while holding the hands of each girl. 

“Do you think this has something to do with _that?_ ” Nico knew it might be futile but still decided to question Maki about it.

“Hardly. We did clear all of Tokyo already.”

After a moment of silence the black haired commander turned around and looked at the princess. Even though she always spoke to Maki with a rude tone, this time she spoke with a really kind and calming tone. It was almost as if she was used to speaking to younger kids like this. 

“How are you feeling?”

“?” Riko was shaken up by that question. 

Someone wanted to know how she was feeling…? Being asked this question gave her such a strange sensation. Nico’s voice when she asked this was also so full of sincerity. It was more than enough to let Riko know that she truly and seriously cared enough to ask that. She truly and seriously wanted to know Riko’s feelings. Was this the push on the back that she needed? Would this be the first step that she would take in order to finally start making meaningful connections with others? Was she of all people capable of that? Was she worthy of that? 

She knew she had to give her an honest answer. Up until now, Riko’s emotions had been all over the place. From loneliness, to sadness, to fear, to anxiety, she had been stuck in the same endless loop that only continued to get worse and worse with each passing day. But this time… at this moment…

“I feel… happy, happy to be around the two of you.” It was a kid’s honest and truthful answer. 

“I’m glad to hear that.” Nico smiled at her. “Let’s spend some more time together from now on, okay?”

“Really?!” 

A powerful light of hope lit up Riko’s world. This wasn’t the last time that she would get to experience something like this. This was just the start. From this day on, her life wouldn’t be the same anymore. From now on, she would finally be able to hold unto that special connection. 

“Really.” Maki was the one who replied this time. “Besides, I’m your new teacher, right? Just leave it to me!”

“Y-Yeah? Well if she’s your new teacher then… I’m your new big sister!!”

“Big… sister?” 

The idea sounded absolutely amazing to Riko. Having someone like that felt like having someone that would always look after her, someone that would be there to support her along the way. Did this mean… she didn’t have to shoulder all that responsibility alone anymore?

“Wait… if you are her big sister wouldn’t that make you the new princess? This isn’t part of your underhanded tactics, is it?” Maki glared at the black haired commander.

“Of course not! I just want to look after her, okay? Learn to read the air! You ruined my moment!!”

“I did?! Besides, I’m her teacher; I get to spend more time with her. Don’t you have all these boring meetings with all the imperial guards to attend to?”

“Not anymore. I fired them all!” Nico declared pretty proud of herself.

“You fired all the imperial guards?!”

“Hm? Why not? If something happens I can take care of it myself anyway. Besides… that way they can’t fire me ehehehe.”

“You are absolutely unbelievable.” 

Riko continued to walk across the garden while listening to the two of them. That strong aura of familiarity coming out from those girls, knowing that those were people who also cared about her deeply, it filled Riko’s heart with joy. As the cold breeze ran across her skin, Riko swore that she wouldn’t let all of this be in vain. She would step forward, she would help everyone, make them realize their worth, and save them all no matter the cost. 

She was going to fulfill her role and then hold her head up proud that she was able to be useful, that she was able to achieve something for the sake of everyone.

_☆_

And then.

The following had taken place three years later. 

The princess sat in front of a piano on top of a large stage. All the people that lived at the palace had gathered to see her performance. 

This would be it, with this; she would be able to touch everyone’s hearts through her music. 

Riko made eye contact with the queen who sat at the front for just a second.

With this, she would be able to save everyone. 

But something had changed, somewhere along the way, something had gone wrong. 

The wine-red haired princess clenched her fist while holding the heart-shaped gem that dangled in front of her neck. The two who had shown her a new radiant and colorful world were nowhere to be found anymore. Just a day before her performance, they had disappeared without a trace. All that was left was this gem. Holding it close to her heart brought her a mix of happiness and pain. 

Her fingers slowly reached for the keyboard, she reached for that door of dreams, but it closed shut in her face.

She was drowned out by darkness.

The symphony had ended with a single fading melody. Unable to play the song, Riko stood on the stage as tears streamed down her face.

_☆_

And so, the princess woke up back on the present day. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your patience! Now that this chapter is out, the character tags are getting a big update which I've been looking forward to for a very long time now! The story has finally reached 5K views which means another side story has been unlocked! (I should get started on those soon;;)
> 
> Up until now while Riko has been important to the story, we've learned very little about her. I wanted this chapter to both help build up a base for her character in the future as well as to give a deeper meaning to all of her actions up till now. And of course the highlight of this chapter must have been to finally get a proper scene with members of µ's. I can't promise when or how will we get to see the others, but I hope you look forward to it! 
> 
> ☆☆☆☆☆
> 
> ☆ If you like my work, PLEASE check out my original story: [Scarlet Finale!](https://www.honeyfeed.fm/chapters/2052) I will really appreciate it if you can make an account on that website (it's fast and easy!) and leave me any likes/comments over there, your support means a lot to me! Even simply clicking on the link above already helps me a lot! 
> 
> ☆ And if you want to keep track of me or just talk, I'm always on twitter [@YukiSetsuna](https://twitter.com/YukiSetsuna)


	51. First Step - Part 1

After waking up, the princess sat down on her bed. For the first time in a while her body felt like it got a better rest. Sleeping on a wide and fancy bed was surely way different than all of the other random places where she had to rest on this adventure. 

That being said, she was hit by a sudden wave of loneliness. Even if she had been stuck sleeping in uncomfortable and even dirty places, whenever a new morning came she was surrounded by a bright and cheerful group. She was surrounded by people, people who had actively worked hard to reach out to her and make a connection with her. Waking up like this, it heavily reminded her of the void and empty way her life had been up till now. 

“That dream.” 

Riko placed the palm of her hand against her forehead. What was that dream about? They seemed to be memories from her childhood growing up inside the palace but... that teacher, that imperial guard. For some reason thinking about it made all of Riko’s body grow cold. 

She pushed aside the veil surrounding her bed and walked towards the corner of the room, there was a large piano sitting just by the window. 

Its position heavily resembled the piano from her childhood which had started it all. Even in the midst of the darkness, the piano was illuminated by the moonlight that entered from outside. This was proof that all of that did happen; this was proof that all of that was real but…

“What was her name?” Heavy pain pounded on Riko’s head. Why couldn’t she remember? All of this time, she couldn’t recall their names or their faces. But… she just dreamed with them. She was finally able to see them once again only to forget as soon as she woke up, this was way too cruel. “...Ki? Yu“ki”ho? No. Yukiho and Alisa became the imperial commanders after the incident, it wasn’t them.”

Thinking back about it, this piano itself was a present from her teacher back then. At first, all of the maids were against it. Apparently the queen had said there was no need for something like that. However, both her master and the imperial commander at the time had taken action to sneak it into her room. It seems like this piano had been imbued with their magic so that only Riko could see it and interact with it, even if the maids came inside to clean they wouldn’t be able to find it. Was their magic still active in it?

The princess decided to turn on the light switch in order to get a clearer view. This room being so big was so inconvenient at times like this, walking towards the light switch and back to the piano took longer than it should have. 

Now then, maybe it would be a good idea to check the piano. 

Even if it was something that always sits here and something she was used to, this was still one of her last links to that radiance from her past, it wasn’t likely at all but maybe she could find something. 

Riko opened the piano, getting a better look at the keyboard. It was a lot dustier than expected. It seems that after the queen passed away the maids stopped cleaning her room. It’s also true that the effects of the actions taken by the previous imperial guard still remained, thanks to her; Riko had gained more freedom than before. By the time Yukiho and Alisa arrived at the imperial palace, the environment had already started to change in a drastic way. 

Moving almost by instinct, she sat in front of the piano, moving her fingers close to the keyboard. Her heart wanted to play those colorful melodies from before, it wanted to soar free and get lost in the world of music, but her mind said otherwise. Her mind continued to tell her it was better to get away from it, that it was better if she gave up on this altogether. 

Then again, she wasn’t the same frail girl who had left the palace on her own, she had changed, and she had improved herself at least a little, that’s what she wanted to believe. Even if she wasn’t ready to play a full song again, maybe, just maybe, playing a single note could be the first step she needed to move forward once again. 

And so, her fingers moved closer to the keyboard. With a gentle tap, a high note resounded across the silence of the night. This was more than enough for her to get carried away, immediately afterwards she played another note, and another one, until she was forced to stop by a strange and distorted low sound coming from the last note. 

She was able to notice something was off with the piano; it was almost like that part of the keyboard was stuck. Was it because it was dirty? Riko felt very guilty for not giving proper maintenance to something so important to her. Maybe she should give it a quick fix. After the maids started coming less and less, there was a trick she was taught by the commander to clean using her magic. It was a little difficult at first but she was used to doing it now.

Preparing herself, Riko took a deep breath and placed her hands above the keyboard. She closed her eyes to concentrate and then a surge of wind magic flowed from inside the piano, making it so clean it almost looked like it was shining. 

“Huh?” 

Wait, what was that? The moment she tried to clean it something flew out from the part that was stuck just now. Riko was fast to jump and catch it in midair, she had no idea what it was but she didn’t want to risk it. 

She opened her hand, only to realize that what she caught was a little piece of white cloth that had been carefully folded. Was this inside the piano all along? While it’s true that she was curious to open it, she almost stopped breathing just by thinking about all the kinds of things that she could find there. It was almost like she was doing something forbidden, like there would be no turning back. 

Riko could feel her hands shaking as she unfolded the cloth, even if it was very small and easy to do, it felt like an eternity. 

And once it was done, she was hit with a strange wave of nostalgia. She knew this was handwriting that she recognized; she had seen it a lot while taking notes after she’d write so many explanations about magic on a whiteboard. This was without doubt, a message from her master and yet… what was this? 

_**“Entropy.”**_

That is what was written with blood on top of the cloth. 

It looked as though there had been something written just above it, but because of the writing method it had become illegible and all she could see was a red smear there.

Riko’s eyes opened wide, her head suddenly started to spin. 

Why was such an ominous thing here? 

Even if it was from her master, for her to write a message this way, she couldn’t think of anything but the worst case scenarios. 

_(No Riko, don’t jump to conclusions. You don’t have enough evidence to prove something did or didn’t happen, for now you should keep this with you and try to figure out the meaning behind this.)_

The princess placed her hand against her chest and starting taking deep breaths. She had to calm down. If her teacher did leave this message here on purpose then she surely had a reason to do it. If she had left a message on the one item that only Riko was supposed to see, it was because she was entrusting this message to her and no one else. Whatever the reason was, she was counting on her. After all this, she couldn’t bring herself to let her down. 

Still, there was no way she could go back to sleep after this. It had been a while but she decided to leave her room for the time being. Come to think of it… huh? Why was she sleeping here in the first place? She got too carried away that she forgot to analyze their current situation. 

That’s right! The events that took place at the distorted broken world, that wasn’t a dream. The direct confrontation with A-RISE, being forced to fight Chika against her will and then at the very end… once she regained control of her own will, her consciousness was very hazy. She faintly remembered everyone witnessing something descending from the heavens… did that really happen?

And then… Yukiho told everyone to disband for the day. She mentioned there was no way for A-RISE to attack again after the damage they had taken and it was best if they regained their energy as well. After that… oh, after that Yukiho called her over. 

_“As I was mentioning before, there is something we must do for the sake of improving our current situation. It is something we can’t delay now more than ever, but I don’t want to force you either. For now, I will give you one day, after that please come to me so we can discuss the “Coronation Ceremony.””_

Coronation Ceremony, that wasn’t something she could take lightly. This is what her life had been leading up to from the very start. However, she never expected something like this would happen so soon. She always thought that the current queen would always be there, that many years would pass and she still wouldn’t have to deal with that kind of responsibility until she was an old lady. 

She knew Yukiho was currently faced with a lot of heavy responsibility, in truth, even if one day seemed like very short time for such a heavy decision she was probably sacrificing a lot by giving her that much time at this point. After all, it was a ceremony that was supposed to take place right before she ran away. Because of her being missing, it was something that had been postponed this long. 

Maybe it was a really selfish thought, maybe it felt like she hadn’t learned anything yet, but just thinking about it made Riko want to run away again. After all, this was the title of queen that we are talking about. 

But that wasn’t all. Riko was slightly knowledgeable about history thanks to some of the books that she would read at the imperial library. 

While it’s true that there weren’t any records there of a group by the name of µ's, it’s also true that some things suspiciously started to fall into place after listening to Chika’s stories about them. It is a true fact that there was a major catastrophe that had affected the planet. Riko herself was never able to see any of its effects because she was always kept safe inside the imperial palace. In that time however, the world had taken major damage, it was to the point a few countries had ceased to exist and the landscape itself in many parts of the world had been completely altered. 

The history books that she had access to would refer to this as a natural disaster, implying it came to a sudden end on its own. But something didn’t sit right with Riko, there were never any explicit details about it, it almost felt like someone was controlling the books she had access to in order to withhold information. 

Maybe this is also why she felt a lot more inclined to believe on Chika’s story, maybe once she has a chance to sit and read it she could ask Chika to lend her that book. 

Of course, with all the changes that took place across the world thanks to the disaster, the power balance of the world forces shifted as well. It seems like at some point the leader of Japan was someone that went by the title of “primer minister” while the head of the imperial palace, the emperor, was limited to symbolic roles but didn’t have any solid saying in political matters. 

After the incident, the remaining countries of the world had made pacts with each other, dividing the world in four main forces. In the midst of that, it seemed like the Queen had obtained unstoppable power, overtaking the current government and becoming the head of not only one but two of the four major main forces in the world: Aer and Ignis. Although Riko didn’t understand why they were still considered two separate groups if they were ruled by the same person.

In the end, of all this meant that if Riko were to go through with the Coronation Ceremony she would obtain the responsibility to rule over half of the world. With the Queen currently gone was all that responsibility falling on Yukiho’s shoulders right now? There more she thought about it the more Riko realized she didn’t really know anything, how would anyone even trust her to be able to fulfill her role like this? How would someone that barely knew what the world was like outside of the palace be able to rule over it? It would only end in a disaster. 

And to think she spent most of the day she was given sleeping. She knew she still had until a little past noon to meet Yukiho’s deadline. Yukiho did say she didn’t want to force her to do anything. What would happen if she said no? Was that truly an option? 

Somehow staying inside this room had started to become asphyxiating. Sitting here while drowning in her thoughts, that was the same as usual, it made Riko feel sick. 

For now maybe it was better to go for a walk and get some fresh air to clear her head. Maybe answers could be waiting for her where she’d expect to find them the least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This update was slightly shorter than usual, but because of the progression I had planned for it I decided this was the best part to end it. The next one might or might not turn out a little longer than usual as a result!
> 
> Special mention to: Yousoroswaifu who commented saying they've just caught up with the story, welcome aboard! I'm really grateful to know you've taken your time to read my work and I hope you keep having a good time with this story from now on!
> 
> I believe this is also a good time to do my honorable mention to everyone who comments regularly and has commented since the last special section. 
> 
> Special ☆ Thanks to:  
> Ritao  
> aethkr  
> Traviera  
> Chiba Shocks  
> eRHa  
> TheCoolOne05  
> Luna  
> xswordeyesx12  
> Serenityyyy  
> YohaRiko  
> lunaticbirb  
> a username  
> nana_thyme  
> Knighty  
> Tomato.
> 
> Whoa, this time it looks a lot bigger than usual, I'm really grateful to all of the new readers who have decided to follow this story and to everyone who has been here from the start, you are all the best and it's thanks to you that I'm able to keep writing every week! 
> 
> (To anyone new, remember you can also check out the First Side-story over [here!](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13839993) I )
> 
> ☆☆☆☆☆
> 
> ☆ I'll be really grateful if you can please check out my original story: [Scarlet Finale!](https://www.honeyfeed.fm/chapters/2052) I will really appreciate it if you can make an account on that website (it's fast and easy!) and leave me any likes/comments over there, your support means a lot to me! Even simply clicking on the link above already helps me a lot! 
> 
> ☆ And if you want to keep track of me or just talk, I'm always on twitter [@YukiSetsuna](https://twitter.com/YukiSetsuna)


	52. First Step - Part 2

Riko stepped out of her room and into one of the main corridors. Stepping outside was somewhat refreshing but it was starting to sound less and less like a good idea. For one, everything was pitch-black. The logical solution would have been to find a light switch just like the one in her room, Riko walked forward with that intention in mind, but that soon proved to be a lot more difficult than she thought. It took the princess a very long time to give each step, with the palace being always so full of furniture and decorations it felt like she would bump into one soon enough. The palm of her hand continued to run across the wall as she moved forward but there weren’t any signs of a light switch or anything of the sort. 

Surprisingly enough, walking in the middle of all this darkness wasn’t really that scary. It may be because the events that had taken place before this had been a lot worse, but being surrounded by this darkness and this silence was almost comforting to an extent. 

“Um…”

A sudden, soft voice reached Riko’s ears. 

Forget about the darkness not being scary, Riko was completely terrified. Just what was that voice? A ghost? Was it really ghost? The imperial palace of all places being haunted wouldn’t be all that surprising. 

(No, there is no way it’s a ghost. Calm down Riko. You are probably just nervous and hearing things.)

The wine-red haired girl swallowed and took yet another step. 

“Um um!!”

The voice was slightly closer this time. It was almost too close. 

And then, Riko felt something tapping on her shoulder. Her body completely froze up on the spot.

(Don’t turn around. Don’t turn around. Don’t turn around. Don’t turn around!!!!) 

But then, a light shone in the midst of the darkness, lighting up a pair of deadly looking purple eyes that stared into her soul. 

“…” 

Riko didn’t even have the energy to scream. 

“Hawawahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!” Instead, the one who screamed was the one who stood behind her. 

In response, Riko stepped forward, unleashing a massive blast of wind that spread in all directions. 

Everything remained silent for a few seconds. Riko was easily able to tell she wasn’t able to hit anyone with that attack, but the lights suddenly came up, giving her a clear view of the scene. 

Looking at the person who stood behind her, it was Coco one of the imperial guards who had managed to stop her attack by surrounding herself with a shield of fire. But what were those eyes she had seen before then?

“Ah. I found the light switch.” 

The princess had to rise up her sight in order to spot the second imperial guard, Yuri. She had jumped high up into a very tall drawer to dodge the attack and it just so happened that the light switch was up there.

Sigh, it was only the imperial guards. Spotting imperial guards was always very annoying since in the past they all used to order her around and scold her, although all of those guards got fired. But it was still a little uncomfortable for the princess to run into them. Come to think of it, she didn’t really know too much about them and her interactions with them were close to none. 

“Sorry about that.” Coco sighed, putting away her fire magic. “I thought you got lost. I used to get lost here too so I wanted to help.”

“Hm? Oh it’s Coco.” Yuri jumped down, picking up the flashlight she was using earlier and staring at both girls with a blank expression. “It is rare to see someone when patrolling so I just wanted to say hi.”

“You really scared me, find another way to say hi!” Coco gave her a pout and looked away.

“There there.” Yuri walked closer, giving her pat on the head. “At least the princess didn’t get scared.”

(No! That REALLY was scary!!!)

“That’s fine.” Riko laughed nervously. 

After getting so used to spending time with Chika’s group, Riko was reminded of how difficult it was to talk with people she wasn’t familiar with. Come to think of it, she didn’t have this problem with Chika or You. Here however, she felt like she didn’t belong at all. At least, looking at these two imperial guards, maybe the guards were a lot more different from what they used to be. They would usually all be really formal and act like robots but these two seemed to be in their own little world. 

Maybe it would be best to just sneak away while they weren’t looking. Right, just slowly walk away and…

“Wait.” Yuri placed a hand on her shoulder. “Where are you going?”

“Ah I was just-”

(How do I even answer that?! Scary, scary! This girl’s princely aura makes it so scary to talk to her!!)

“Oh!” Coco jumped into the conversation. “Are you still lost? We can show you the way to the garden.”

Huh? They weren’t going to guide her back into her room? Maybe this girl was a lot more perceptive than what she let on. If anything, going for a walk at the garden did sound like a good idea now. 

“Please do.”

“Damn.” Yuri scratched her head. “I have to cover Kasane’s next shift now.”

“I told you not to bet with that girl!!”

“Coco, it’s okay.”

“Eh?”

“It’s okay, next time I’ll win the bet.”

(That’s not the problem! Well, it is! But don’t bet based on me!!!) 

Despite Riko’s outward calm appearance she wanted to cover her face with her hands and run away as fast as possible. 

After following them across some more corridors and listening in to their embarrassing conversations, they finally waved goodbye once Riko reached the imperial garden. They were a little odd and difficult to interact with but she appreciated how they weren’t pushy and gave her enough space to breathe and be herself.

_☆_

The imperial garden was as breathtaking as ever. It was almost like a place taken straight out of a painting. The way that nature bloomed all around her with trees decorating different paths and the pond of water that spread in the distance made it easy to forget that this was still Tokyo at all. Being out here at night made the scenery very different as well, the crescent moon reflected beautifully over the water and rays of moonlight illuminated the place enough for her to see where she was going.

Hm? Taking a better look, Riko was able to notice something. There was someone sitting under one of the trees. It was the elder sister of Saint Snow. Even though Riko had gotten a lot closer, she still didn’t notice her presence at all. Rather, she continued to look upwards, staring intently at the moon. 

(What is Seira doing? She doesn’t look too good. I’d like to talk to her to see if I can learn what’s wrong but maybe I shouldn’t stick my nose where it doesn’t belong. At the very least I should leave her be for now.) 

One way or another, even if Riko didn’t really understand what was troubling Seira, she still felt like she could understand her feelings to an extent. At time likes this it’s better to just give the other person enough space. 

The princess continued walking past the Saint Snow member and towards a small bridge that passed over the pond. Standing over a solid world like this was reassuring. For better or for worse it reminded Riko of how real everything was; both everything that had happened and this very moment. She had faced a lot of different situations and experienced a lot of different emotions, but at the end of the day, here she was: standing in a familiar place, letting the cold breeze of the night caress her skin, staring at the clear water before her. If only for a moment the world felt like a very peaceful place. 

“Is that all you got? Heh, no wonder your skills are still so low level.” “What did you say?! I was only warming up! If you go all out before warming up you’ll just end up hurting yourself!” “Yeah right, excuses.” 

Two bickering voices reached her. One of them was a voice she could recognize a lot easier, the voice of Kanan, one of the most reliable people she had met along the way. The second voice took her a little longer to register, but she soon recognized it belong to the younger sister of Saint Snow, Ria. 

By the sound of it they were really out training at this time, weren’t they? They did mention something like this before but Riko assumed they were only exaggerating. If that was the case though, maybe it wasn’t as close to midnight as she thought. Come to think of it, the atmosphere was starting to get a tiny bit lighter. So it was closer to 4AM, right? Sigh, that only meant that she wasted more time sleeping than what she previously thought. Her time was running out way too fast, just what should she do?

“Oh, she woke up.” The younger sister pointed out. 

Both figures were getting closer and closer. Just seconds ago Riko was able to make out their figures in the distance but they were a lot closer now, it looked like they were really running at a ridiculously high speed. 

(Just watching them makes me feel tired.)

“Riko, you are up!” Kanan called out to her and both stopped running as soon as they approached her.

“Sorry, looks like I was out of it for quite a bit. I hope I didn’t worry everyone too much.”

“That’s okay.” Kanan nodded. “We were all very exhausted.”

“That’s because you all barely do any trainin-!!”

Kanan simply placed her index finger in front of Ria’s mouth to stop her from speaking without looking away from Riko. 

“How are you feeling, does anything hurt?”

(Whoa. I had my suspicions before but she really is like a mom.)

“I’m okay but-”

Riko wasn’t certain why, but now that this person was speaking to her she felt like it would be someone she could talk to for advice. The fact that she did come off like a motherly figure might have been a big part of it. A motherly figure… come to think of it, she was never able to ask for advice like this from her real mother, it was almost a little too scary.

“Ow!!! What are you doing?!” Kanan pulled her hand away after Ria’s response was to bite her finger.

“Hmph, that’s what you get.”

“Why are you like this?!”

“Hmph!!”

(Or maybe… I should just leave them be.)

“Anyway.” Kanan gave Ria a glare and looked back at Riko. “It looked like you wanted to ask something. If anything is bothering you, you can tell me!”

(How did she know from just that?! She’s really like a mom!!)

“Well…” Riko took a deep breath. 

She knew she was running out of time and options. If she was really going to take such a heavy decision, maybe listening to what others had in mind could be of help. For now, she decided to explain the situation to both; about how she had to go through with the coronation ceremony and about her doubts for taking on such a big role. 

“Hm.” Kanan crossed her arms. “Can I ask you something?”

“Tell me.” 

“The future of the country and everything aside, what do you want to do?”

“Eh?”

“Between going through with this and to remain as you are now, without thinking about anyone else, which one would make you happier?” 

That was such a tough question. It wasn’t up till recently that she had finally started to try making her own choices and thinking about herself. A concept like her own happiness was still something difficult to grasp. What did it even mean to happy? Moreover, she mentioned “without thinking about anyone else.” How did that work? Was there a way to be happy without making sure others were happy too? If one were to look deeper into that kind of concept. Riko wasn’t the only one who was capable of her own thoughts. Everyone was capable of thinking of their own happiness. Even if ideal, it didn’t mean everyone had the obligation to look after everyone else. But then… wouldn’t it be too selfish to think that way? Wouldn’t it be selfish to make this kind of choice while only thinking about herself?

“I… don’t know too much about politics and all that complicated stuff.” Ria was the one who spoke this time, pulling Riko away from her thoughts. “From where I stood, I always thought you had it easy. I told you, didn’t I? Sister and I were trying to stop you from coming because A-RISE wanted to take advantage of that ceremony to take over but… it never crossed my mind that you were uncertain about this. If I were you I would have ran away too.”

(Ran away too… that choice of wording and the way she said it. It is true I ran away but… just how much does she know about _what happened?_ At the very least, it doesn’t look like she intends to give out any details to anyone else so I should be grateful for that and let it be.)

“They were planning to use Erena’s mind control again, right? I want to think about it some more, but thank you, I will keep both of your words in mind.”

“Don’t push yourself too much. If worst comes to worst you can rely on me!” Kanan gave her a pat on the back and then stretched out. “Well, I guess it’s a good time to resume training! Do you want to come along?”

“I’ll pass for now, sorry.”

“Let her be.” Ria stepped forward, giving both her back. 

It almost felt like the way she was acting was a little different now. Riko didn’t want to assume anything but it felt like she was being kinder after Riko opened up. Understanding Ria was complicated, but it’s true that she valued things like this a lot. The trust they had given her was a precious treasure for her.

Soon, both left while running away deeper into the garden. Being left alone with her thoughts made Riko a little uneasy. She was grateful that she was given new perspectives and things to think about such as thinking of her own well-being and the threat of A-RISE, but facing these kinds of things could get very scary too. 

Hm… it didn’t look like Riko was the only one troubled right now. It was very evident that Seira was still lost in her own thoughts. The princess still wanted to leave her alone but something had crossed her mind. It seemed like Ria knew a little too much about her. Speculating just how much Saint Snow knew was nerve-wracking, but at the same time, maybe they knew more about the message she found. The one that spelled the word “Entropy.” Approaching someone for the sake of asking for help didn’t sit right with Riko though; maybe it would be best to do it some other time.

_☆_

As the sun slowly started to move up, part of the sky was painted with red in the horizon. The contrast of the dark skies and the rising sun made Riko wonder if the current state of the world was the same. Maybe just like that, a solution will rise in the horizon and light up the current darkness.

Afterwards, the princess continued walking deeper into the garden until she reached another building. This smaller structure was the place where the meeting room they had visited earlier was, as well as where the dorms should have been. Riko wondered if they were all going to be waking up soon, although that also reminded her how time was continued to advance even now. 

-Boom!- 

A loud sound made Riko jump up to her feet.

-Boom!- -Boom!- -Blast!!-

Right after each sound, a bright purple light spread into the skies. Judging by the direction where it came from, it wasn’t too far away, all she had to do was to walk around the building to reach the place.

“Do you see now?! This is how you do it! First you aim and then _shinyyyy_!!!”

“R-Right.”

The source of the light was of course the ever cheerful leader of The Liberation, Mari Ohara. Riko was still surprised however, to find that the person who was with Mari was You. The gray haired girl held what looked like a small metallic gun in her hands and was intently listening to what the blonde girl had to say.

“There, try again!”

“Aye Aye!” You closed one eye, aiming her gun to the sky and pulling on the trigger but… the only thing to come out were two tiny bubbles. “Ugh. Why is this so difficult?”

“There were two bubbles this time, that’s progress!! Right, Riko?”

“?!”

(W-When did she notice me?! Did I get too close without thinking?!)

“Riko!!” You immediately turned around. She had a heavy expression of relief on her face. “Did you rest well?”

“Yeah.” Riko nodded. “How about you two?”

“I did sleep well but... it just feels weird after someone gets in your head just like that. I can’t let my guard down.” 

“I know what you mean!!” Mari nodded repeatedly. “Being able to see everything and do nothing about it! I’m never letting her take over my head again!!”

(Uuwah… that sounds like a really bad flag, please don’t say more than that Mari.) 

“Erena’s mind control is quite terrifying.” Riko crossed her arms. That was also one of the biggest obstacles when it came to the coronation ceremony. “But You, you were able to break out of it for a moment, weren’t you?”

“I… think so.” The captain sighed. “I don’t recall too much after that.”

“It’s OKAY!!” Mari placed her hands on her hips. “Yuki put up a huge protection field around this area so we should be safe for now!!”

“I sure hope so.”

“Yep, you can leave it to Yuki! I’ve known her from quite some time now, she’s really impressive. Oh! Come to think of it.” Mari looked around and then stared at Riko. “I lived at the palace for a year but I never got to meet the princess in that time!”

“Eh?” 

Riko had a hunch that she had seen Mari running around the garden from her window before. Did she get here when Yukiho and Alisa arrived? 

“It was really tough for Yuki at first. Apparently someone fired all the imperial guards, so that’s why there’s only like four of them now. She wanted me to help her and become one as well but… I ran away! Putting The Liberation together was our dream and I wasn’t going to let it get away! Though I wonder what kind of group we are now, that’s a little troubling…”

(She lived here, was given a role to fulfill and then ran away. Maybe this person is a lot more similar to me than what I thought. On the other hand… do I have a proper dream? Do I have something that important?) 

“If you give me a uniform I don’t mind joining.” You spoke without hesitation.

“ _Of course!_ ” Mari winked at her and then crossed her arms. “But first we must complete your training!!”

“Do we really have to?”

“Do you want a uniform yes or no?”

“I do!!”

“GOOD! Then training it is!!” Mari pushed You away and then looked back at Riko, giving her a goodbye wink. 

Just as expected, Mari was on her own wavelength. It almost felt like she was trying to tell Riko something with that final gesture but it was difficult to understand her message properly. If anything there was a new thought in Riko’s head. To choose one’s dreams over one’s obligations, was that an option she could consider too? Her dream had originally been to save everyone but above all, to save the queen. Of course, that wasn’t possible anymore, just what should she do?

If possible, she would have liked to talk with You some more as well. She did seem to be really troubled but… ah. Why was Mari even training her out of the blue now? Could it be that she was trying to get You’s mind busy? Even if her memory was blurry, Riko remembered seeing the girl who they thought had died at the train station walking in to save Anju at the last moment, she was probably under A-RISE’s control now. Knowing You she would surely blame herself for such a turn of events. Maybe Mari was better at thinking of other’s feelings than previously expected.

_☆_

As she walked back towards the building, the princess realized she was starting to get hungry. Thinking on an empty stomach didn’t sound like a good idea and even though eating together with everyone was fun, she needed some time alone to put her thoughts together as well.

Riko slowly sneaked into the building, she would quietly sneak into the imperial kitchen, get some food and get sit alone in the dining room. Well, that was the plan but once she stepped outside the door to the dining room…

“How could you let that happen?!” A very loud voice yelled, followed by very loud banging noises. 

“?!”

Riko rushed into the room, given it was a voice she recognized, but once she took a good look, there was only one person inside.

“How?! How?! How?!” Dia Kurosawa continued to yell at herself, slamming her head into the desk at full force.

“Excuse me…” Riko approached her carefully only for Dia to freeze on the spot while staring at her intently.

“…”

“Are you okay?”

“…….”

“D-Dia?”

“…………….”

Riko placed her food on the table and waved her hands in front of the black haired girl. 

In response, Dia covered her face with her hands. 

“Dia is not here!!”

“Eh?! No no no, you are right here!!”

“You don’t have any evidence!!”

(So she’s asking for evidence now… Nevermind anything I said before, this has to be the most complicated person to deal with of them all.)

“Hm? Well if Dia isn’t here I guess she won’t mind once I tell everyone what I saw the totally-not-Dia doing when I walked here.”

“Wait!!! Dia is here now!!!”

Riko glared at her for a moment, was this really the elder Kurosawa sister? The famous Birthstone alchemist? 

“What’s wrong?”

“I have done something unacceptable. I will never be able to atone for this.”

“?”

“Because I was weak… I let the enemy take control of me. I was not able to be of help to anyone. Not only did I make problems for everyone but now Ruby… now Ruby…”

“Did something happen with Ruby?”

“I do not know. I do not know what happened either. But she will not wake up along with Hanamaru and Yoshiko. I do not know what to do.”

For them to not wake up, it did seem like something was off. After all Riko had gone through a big strain, and while she did sleep a lot she had been up and around for some time now. Were they really going to be okay?

“I understand if you are worried but I don’t think it’s your fault.” Saying this was difficult, she didn’t know how this person would react like after all, but if she could help others in any way, this was also a small step towards that. “You weren’t the only one who got controlled by your enemy, I was too. So if you are going to blame someone for what happened you can blame me as well.”

“But that is not-!”

“I don’t know what happened with Ruby and the others but it’s true that I wasn’t there for them either. If you need to be punished for not being strong enough, then I will take that punishment with you. However, yelling at yourself and harming yourself will do nothing. If you really want to atone for this we need to get stronger together.”

“Riko…” Dia’s eyes became teary. It looked like reaching her heart was a lot easier than what Riko expected. “Y-You are right. I am sorry for acting this way. I need to get strong, for Ruby and for everyone! Let us do our best together!”

“Yeah!!”

(Ahhh… I went and opened my big mouth a little too much again. Even though I said all of that… it’s easier said than done. I’m glad Dia was able to recover so fast but I hope I can also live up to her expectations. Live up to expectations… I keep trapping myself in the same cycle, don’t I?)

“However. With all due respect there is something I must point out.”

“Huh?” Riko was at a complete blank, just what could Dia say now?

“I do not see you as someone weak and I do not blame you for what happened either. I heard from Yukiho and I am aware of what the coronation ceremony entails. Please do not push yourself to do anything for my sake. When I met you along with Chika’s group I thought to myself that I had to protect the princess at all costs and that has not changed.”

(Is she indebted to me because I’m the princess? I’m grateful but that’s still a little…)

“However, that is not it. Is it not just you, it is everyone. I want to make sure everyone is safe. It may be selfish of me, but I have grown to see our small group almost like family. I know I still know little of you but please do not hesitate to rely on me. I want to be here not for the princess but for Riko Sakurauchi, so I will be grateful if you do not forget that.”

“R-Right. Thank you.” Riko was at a loss for words. 

Not the princess but Riko Sakurauchi. To separate herself as a person to the role that had been given to her from birth. She thought it was something impossible but this person had done it so easily. Maybe, that’s where she should have started. Could this bring her to a new door she wasn’t able to see before?

But then, the silence was broken by a growling noise coming from the black haired girl. It seemed like Riko wasn’t the only one who was still really hungry.

“Dia isn’t here!!” She instantly covered her face with her hands.

“Of course she isn’t.”

In the end, Riko wasn’t able to eat her breakfast in silence and to be on her own but maybe this was something good in its own way. It was strange but also fascinating how new possibilities appeared to broaden her train of thought the more she interacted with others. 

It looked like Ruby, Hanamaru and Yoshiko were still asleep. It did make her curious to know what their output would be. Hopefully nothing too bad happened and they’ll manage to wake up soon.

_☆_

The morning continued moving fast but there was still one last person Riko wanted to talk to before heading over to Yukiho.

Riko walked back out into the garden. With everyone spread around this place it would be difficult to find her but… almost as if guided by destiny, there she was, standing right before her. 

It was just like back then. She had found her when she needed her the most. It was just like back then, her radiant pink eyes had locked their sights right into hers, looking intently at her, drawing her in closer and closer.

Before she could realize it, Riko had approached her, moving closer and closer to her. Until the orange haired girl jumped forward, giving Riko a tight embrace. 

“I was really scared.” The orange haired girl spoke. “I was scared you wouldn’t wake up again.”

“Don’t worry.” Riko returned the embrace and gave her a pat in the back. “I’m right here.”

“Don’t ever go away, okay?”

This was such a strange sensation. Both this girl and everyone else, why did they care so much? What had they seen in her?

“Don’t worry.” Riko let go of the embrace and looked at her in the eyes. “It’s going to be okay.”

After letting go, Chika gave her a nod.

“Can I ask you something?” Chika spoke as both continued to walk across the garden.

“What is it?”

“What are you going to do after this?”

“Huh?”

“I’ve been thinking and thinking and thinking about it but… right now. A-RISE have become our enemies right?”

“Do you feel bad about fighting them because they were supposed to be friends with µ's?”

“I do… but that’s not it. µ's saved the world, they went around the world, helping everyone but…as we made our way here, the world was desolate and decaying.” Chika stopped walking and stared at the now clear blue skies. “But even if we defeat A-RISE, that won’t solve anything.”

“?”

“Even if we defeat them, will that save the world? Will that be able to save everyone?”

To save everyone. Even if at first “everyone” had meant the people who lived at the palace, that had been Riko’s original dream. What Chika said wasn’t wrong. To save everyone was a noble dream, it only made sense for that to be something only a legend could have achieved. 

In the end, Riko was never able to give her a proper response.

_☆_

To do what made her happy.

To be driven by a dream. 

To be her own person.

To save everyone.

Was that a possibility if you were to only think about yourself?

With these thoughts in mind, the princess’ time ran out. 

Before she could realize it, she had approached Yukiho and she had spoken out the answer she reached. 

From this point onward, there would be no turning back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your patience!
> 
> My intent with this chapter was to write an scenario similar to when videogames (likes Tales of!) have your party spread across a location and you can talk to them all and see all these different little scenes with them. Of course, Riko was our playable character here. I wanted to make it feel like you were walking across this location with her while listening to what the others had to say, which is why this time we got to see a lot of her thoughts as well. 
> 
> And to even out the previous chapter being shorter, this one ended up a little longer! I hope that you enjoyed it!
> 
> Special mention to: Fallen_Angel36 and MockingJayXXT who just caught up with the story recently. I read both of your comments and I'm eternally grateful that you took your time to catch up. Despite this being a long read so far, get ready because we are only getting started! 
> 
> ☆☆☆☆☆
> 
> ☆ Check out the [Character Illustrations](https://twitter.com/YukiSetsuna/status/1001576688327778305) for the characters of my original story!
> 
> ☆ I'll be really grateful if you can please check out my original story: [Scarlet Finale!](https://www.honeyfeed.fm/chapters/2052) I will really appreciate it if you can make an account on that website (it's fast and easy!) and leave me any likes/comments over there, your support means a lot to me! Even simply clicking on the link above already helps me a lot! 
> 
> ☆ And if you want to keep track of me or just talk, I'm always on twitter [@YukiSetsuna](https://twitter.com/YukiSetsuna)


	53. First Step - Part 3

Something was about to start. Even if you were to ask her, she wouldn’t be able to tell you what it was but it seemed like everyone at the palace had become very active. There were still a lot of things that Chika didn’t know what to make of. Even though she already knew some of the truth behind Yohane to an extent, the image of the girls descending from the skies before their very eyes is something she couldn’t have foreseen. On top of that, they didn’t wake up after that. Just what happened in that broken, distorted world? Or a much better question would be: what was that world? 

After what happened, Yukiho gave them the advice not to think too much about it. After all, regardless of what happened, two things became clear. First, the imperial commander recognized Hanamaru, Yohane and Ruby weren’t a threat; after all, they would have been able to use the commotion to harm any of them if that was the case. The second one, the members of Saint Snow weren’t their enemies anymore. It’s not like Chika was particularly seeing them as an enemy despite the previous confrontation against them, but the fact that they helped fight back against A-RISE was very meaningful. Defying an opponent like that wasn’t easy, and after all, A-RISE had come after their lives as well. Even if their intentions were still not fully clear, they had still become someone they could rely on when it came down to it. 

At any rate, being able to take a shower and change into clean clothes after all of this was very refreshing. Even though her outfit was still the same, Dia had worked hard to clean and repair everyone’s clothes using her alchemy, leaving them like new. 

So, what now? Chika knew she wasn’t in a position to decide their next course of action. But even if she were to think about herself alone, she was still at a loss as to what the next step would be. They had made it to TOKYO, but in the end that had done nothing other than to place everyone in danger. Originally, the plan was to come here and try to gather more information about µ's. According to her book, the Imperial Palace had been a key location, since the imperial commander had been one of their members, but after arriving here she had seen no trace of their presence whatsoever. If a place like this had no clues, where would she even begin?

But at the end of the day, this adventure had started the same way, without a specific goal in mind and she had still made it all the way here somehow. Leaving things up to chance might be an irresponsible outlook, but it was still an option nonetheless. 

Come to think of it, back then the situation was really similar. After encountering danger, she had met with Kanan who gave them the order to pack everything they needed because they had to leave. Back then, there was no clear destination for them to go. This time, the one who had given them similar instructions was Yukiho. They were to gather everything they would need and get ready to depart… but where to?

Unlike last time, Chika didn’t have a home to return to in order to retrieve her things. Most of what she needed was still inside the miniature ship that You was still carrying so she didn’t have much to do in order to prepare. In the meantime, she had gone for a walk at the Imperial Palace but it looked like it was almost time for them to meet. This time, Yukiho had instructed them to meet by the bridge behind the main building, maybe it was a good time to get there already. 

As she approached the meeting place, instead of the regular dream-like scenery of the imperial garden, what met Chika was what looked like a giant dome of light. Somehow, even though it seemed incredibly bright it didn’t make her eyes hurt to look at it. 

(That’s right!)

The orange haired girl quickly remembered something after looking at the strange distortion before her. Dia did mention that she should properly be wearing her gloves before the meeting, if the meeting itself was taking place inside that dome it would be no wonder if Dark Matter acted up. Thankfully, this time Dia had prepared better measures in order for Chika to be able to carry the gloves which had essentially become her weapon. Using a similar mechanism as what she did to she ship, she had shrunk them using her alchemy, just enough for them to fit inside Chika’s pocket. Since they were made of mythril, it looked like pouring Dark Matter into them would make them grow, and taking that power away would make them shrink again.

It was strange, Dark Matter had always been such a difficult power to control- no, even regular magic alone was something that Chika had difficulty with, but whenever she touched this kind of material, pouring power into them had started to feel a lot more natural. At first she was concerned that she wouldn’t be able to make the gloves grow as they should, but it all worked out easily in the end. Did Dia account for how much Chika had progressed when making these, or did she just believe in her that much?

Either way, she now wore the pair of gloves. From the outside, it was like looking at translucent crystal, however, the light of the environment reflected on it, making it shine into a lot of different colors. It was hard to believe that something as radiant as that contained the power of Dark Matter inside. 

Once she stepped into the dome of light, she was met with the usual long bridge spread across the garden and the clear water below it. It looked like she wasn’t alone; taking a better look almost everyone was already inside. 

And then, she was able to notice something else. Within the group standing by the bridge there were…

“Three Rikos?!”

“That’s RIGHT!!” One of the long wine-red haired girls pointed at Chika and gave her a wink. “I’m the PRINCESS!!”

“…”

“Stop fooling around.” The second Riko crossed her arms. “If you go acting like that then there’s no point to our plan.”

“Yuki! Don’t be so MEAN, you underestimate my perfect acting!!”

“Right right.”

“So… what’s going on here?” Chika stared at them as a huge question mark appeared on top of her head. 

“Hehehe…” You laughed awkwardly and walked next to the orange haired girl. “I’m as confused as you are.”

“If…If you must know, the actual Riko is me.” The third Riko who continued to stand awkwardly before the other two spoke embarrassed.

“I guessed as much.” Ria uttered to herself, feeling quite proud of having figured it out. 

“Okay okay. Let me explain.” One of the Rikos snapped her fingers, making her appearance return to that of Yukiho, one of the imperial commanders. And the second one was of course, Mari Ohara. “Is everyone here?”

“Ah, we got here just in time.” The voice to reach Chika was this was the one of the second imperial commander, Alisa. “I brought these two sleepy heads with me.”

Alisa walked into the dome of light where they were reunited. She rested her hands on top of Yohane and Hanamaru’s heads respectively. Both had messy hair and still seemed to be very disorientated. On the other hand, Alisa didn’t seem like she was in the best condition. Even though she looked just fine at first glance, she had a lot of bandages covering her arms along with a few band-aids on her face; it looked like healing magic wasn’t enough to let her heal completely in just one day. 

“Just five more minutes, zura.”

“Is breakfast ready yet?”

It probably took Alisa a lot of effort to get these two out of bed at all. However, looking at them, Dia was able to feel her heart skip a beat. If these two were awake then that meant…

“What about Ruby?”

But she wasn’t given the response she wanted to hear, instead, Alisa simply shook her head. For Ruby to still be out cold…just what happened to her? The alchemist had also talked beforehand with Yukiho, isn’t not like she wasn’t aware of the events that were about to take place, but that’s also why she knew there wasn’t enough time to just wait for Ruby. Dia was truly troubled. 

“Okay!” Yukiho smiled at Alisa and then clapped her hands together, driving everyone’s attention towards her. “I’m going to explain the operation now, so please play close attention. However, before I proceed, I understand that there is a small group that was part of “The Liberation” along with Mari, and the rest of you joined along the way. What we are about to do is something that may place your lives in deep danger, as such, if you want to step away right now, you are free to do so.” 

Yukiho’s words resounded with a lot of weight to Chika as well as the other girls who had come from the small town of Uchiura. Up until now, they had been thrown into dangerous situations against their own will. For the members of The Liberation, this was the usual. Or rather, they were well aware this is what awaited them the moment they decided to join Mari’s group. On the other hand, this was the first time a choice had appeared before Chika: to turn back and stop getting involved with these dangerous events, or to walk into danger out of her own volition. 

Of course, it would be easy for anyone to think that they couldn’t turn back now after coming this far, but it wasn’t that simple. They had made an enemy of A-RISE, a group said to be on par with the Legendary Heroes. It was the same as fighting someone as strong as µ's themselves. 

After coming face to face with someone like Tsubasa, things like the fear for your life were things that had become engraved into Chika’s heart. 

For people like You, after having an encounter against Anju, things like facing the embrace of death itself was something she couldn’t forget. 

For someone like Kanan, she had seen the true terror of Erena’s network after seeing how easily she was able to take over everyone surrounding her. 

If they so desired, they could walk away from all of this and leave it the hands of capable people. After all, even now, there was something that still bothered Chika. Even now, it never felt like she was someone that special. Looking at µ's radiance, it didn’t feel like she would ever be able to get close to something like that. But following that line of thinking was also selfish. 

This wasn’t simply about herself anymore. Especially because she knew the true terror of what they were facing, she knew that this also meant those who had become close to her would have to face that. 

To abandon them for the sake of protecting her own life? A life like that would be meaningless. 

Even if she still didn’t know what the proper path to take was, even if she still didn’t know what she was capable of achieving, there was no way she would walk away from something like this. 

“I’m not leaving.” Chika clenched her fists and spoke her answer loud and clear. 

You and Kanan looked at each other and smiled, they knew each other well enough to know what the other was thinking, and of course, there was only one course of action to take. 

“A captain looks after their crew till the very end, let’s go full speed ahead!”

“You heard them. Besides, I was entrusted to look after them so I can’t let them go on their own you know?”

“That’s reassuring, in that case, welcome aboard.” Yukiho nodded.

“Hmm, then!” Mari brought a hand to her chin. “The Liberation is officially _disbanded_!!”

“Eh?!” “Zura?!”

The shock of Mari’s words was enough to snap Hanamaru awake. Dia on the other hand approached the blonde with a glare on her face and pulled her by her collar.

“What are you saying? Explain yourself!!”

“Now now, Dia don’t get so angry! You’ll get wrinkles!!”

“Stop avoiding the question and answer me!!”

“Hmph. Well, I have my REASONS!!”

“And those are?!”

“SECRET!!!”

The Liberation was disbanded? Riko felt beyond confused by seeing the scene that took place before them. She could understand Dia’s reaction. After all, Mari had said making this group had been her dream and her drive up till now. She was sure that Dia and the other members were well aware of that and treasured that group a lot, so then why?

“Calm down.” Yukiho stepped between them, gently pushing Dia away. “We don’t have time to be arguing. I know this is important, and I know this idiot is irritating when she doesn’t explain herself, but we have to prioritize this operation before anything else.”

“Hmph.” Dia simply looked away from Mari. 

Kanan remained silent; she realized she still didn’t know how to properly approach each of them. She knew this was always part of Mari’s bad habit, there were plenty of times that Kanan got upset because of Mari not explaining herself, and most of the time it just ended up being misunderstandings. But she knew how Dia felt, she really did, but she knew that nothing she could say would be of help either. Seeing the way Yukiho broke the fight so easily, deep inside she felt a little jealous. That used to be her role when they were little but she didn’t feel like she was capable of doing something like that anymore. 

After meeting Mari and Dia again she was relieved but… she wasn’t able to close the gap between them at all, was she?

Yukiho sighed and then clapped her hands again in order to get everyone’s attention, breaking this tension was no easy task, but if she let something like this stop them then there was no future for them.

“Here is what you need to know, for starters I made this dome to create a safer zone and make sure none of what we will discuss here gets leaked. To put it bluntly, we are in heavy danger. Up until now there was a barrier at the Imperial Palace but A-RISE clearly knows how to bypass it now. However, A-RISE has also taken heavy damage from our last encounter; we need to use this chance to strike back.”

“Strike back…?” Ria whispered under her breath. “Then, we are storming into UTX to fight them directly?”

“Not quite!” Alisa was quick to correct her.

“Our goal is something else, something that A-RISE is also after, the Imperial Crown.”

“Huh? But wouldn’t that be here?” You was quickly trying to piece all the information together after listening to the explanation. 

“It’s not, the reason being that this was the most obvious place to look for it. I’m sure A-RISE might come back with that assumption, giving us the advantage. In the meantime, we will be on our way to the location where the crown is: The Tokyo Skytree.”

“Huh?! That’s where the crown is?!” 

Seira was taken aback. After all, she and Ria were way more knowledgeable of Tokyo’s layout. The Skytree for the most part was an observation tower, almost like a resort, and the tallest structure in Japan. Why would the crown be in the one place that would stand out the most? 

“That’s how it is. I’m sure you might wonder how it hasn’t been stolen yet, but it’s simple, even if someone found the crown, no one except for members of the imperial family can touch it. That’s why Riko is the key to our operation and why A-RISE needs Riko.” Yukiho explained.

“And there are three Rikos because A-RISE might come after us if we wander around Tokyo in order to get there, in other words, the other Rikos are a decoy, correct?” The elder Saint Snow sister was quick to catch up.

“Exactly.”

“Wait, wait!” Yohane stepped into the conversation. “You use void magic right? Can’t we just get there faster that way?!”

“That’s…” Seira clenched her fist and looked away, for some reason she seemed reluctant to give a straight answer.

“She can’t use void magic anymore.” Yukiho explained for her. “Remember how you were caught by Tsubasa’s void magic even though it was Erena chasing you when you were making your way to Tokyo? It was the same; she was letting Seira use it through the link to her mental network.”

“So all this time… that was Tsubasa’s void magic?!” Kanan had seen that power beforehand, to think it was borrowed power from somebody else was almost ridiculous.

“It is. I am ashamed to admit I may have been under mind control for longer that what I may have realized.”

At that moment, it all clicked for Riko. That’s why Seira looked so conflicted. For one, she used to rely a lot on magic like that; to completely lose one of your skills must be a heavy blow. But to realize you had been under someone’s control all these time, Erena was truly terrifying. 

“That is how it is. It seems that they were able to find out our location the moment I borrowed Seira’s magic to enter the palace. Sending Kasane was either a decoy or a way to confirm that information.” Yukiho looked into her pockets and pulled a bundle of small and rectangular paper seals. “But that’s why we’ll use these.”

Kanan and Ria were able to recognize them right away, it was the seals they had used earlier to seal the other’s magic and break Erena’s mental control. 

“We will be making our way to the Skytree in three groups, each group will have a “Riko” with them to serve as a decoy. Of course, even if I use the word decoy, I don’t intend for anyone to die, but know that the enemy might come right after us. We don’t know the true extent of Erena’s mental control but we do know that it breaks if we seal the magic flow, I have reason to believe you may temporally break it if you use your love gems to perform an “Idolization” but I am yet to confirm that.” 

After that, Yukiho slammed some of the seals in front of some of the girls with a swift movement. She had done this so fast that most of them didn’t realize until after seconds later. The ones who had their magic sealed were: You, Kanan, Hanamaru, Seira, and Yohane. 

“Each group will have someone who can use magic and someone with their magic sealed. In case the person who can use magic becomes mind controlled, I want you to use one of these right away to seal their magic. We won’t make it if we don’t look after each other.”

Yukiho then handed a large stack of seals to the girls who became sealed and to Chika as well. 

“Let me see, while Alisa and I don’t possess love gems, I am amazed to see some of you do. After checking up on you, I have realized Riko, You, Dia, Seira and Hanamaru have fully charged gems; while Ruby seemed to be holding a used up one. Please make use of those gems wisely.”

Ruby had a used up gem? That piece of information only made Dia worry even more, she couldn’t even begin to imagine a scenario where she was forced to use it. Did she come face to face with one of the members of A-RISE?

“Okay.” Yukiho resumed. “And as for the groups-“

“I…” The black haired alchemist interrupted her. “I want to stay and wait for Ruby to wake up.”

“I’ll wait for Ruby too.”

“Ria?!” Seira was shocked to hear her sister’s statement.

“I have to wait for her.”

It seemed like Dia wasn’t the only one who remained uneasy about the thought of leaving Ruby here. While it’s true that the imperial guards may stay as well, she knew their enemy wasn’t someone so easy to deal with.

“I see.” Yukiho brought a hand to her chin to think. “If that is your choice then I respect it. After the meeting, please remain here however, I want to have a word with the two of you in private.”

Dia and Ria simply answered with a nod. Whatever scolding Yukiho would give them was something they were willing to accept.

“Give me a moment.” Yukiho closed her eyes. “Let me re-arrange the groups into the current best possible combination for this operation.”

Being forced into groups like this was making Kanan a little uneasy, even though she wanted to spend more time with both Dia and Mari, at the moment, it felt like being close to them would be difficult. 

“Okay, here are the groups. Each group will take a different route as part of the operation. The first group will consist of Kanan, Hanamaru, Seira and me. I’ll be disguised as Riko. We will take a straight forward route; our job will be to clean up any enemies in the way. Of course, there might be A-RISE guards looking after the entrance of the Skytree once they realize, we’ll get there first and start cleaning them up.”

As everyone nodded in approval, Kanan let out a sigh of relief inside her head. Even though she called it relief, the more she thought about it, the more it hurt. It was as if her path wasn’t meant to cross with those who she held dear anymore, even if it felt ridiculous, it was almost like a sign.

“As for the second group.” This time Yukiho moved her sight towards the orange haired girl. “Chika, I didn’t seal your magic because Dark Matter seems to stop the mind control from taking place. I would like you to go accompanied with Mari, You and Alisa. Since Mari will be disguised as Riko and an imperial commander will be with you, it’s likely the enemy will assume that the real Riko is with you. This also means you could face the most danger so I want you to be prepared. Unlike us, you will take a route up north. Alisa will guide you so don’t worry.”

Yukiho frowned, especially because this was the most dangerous group, she wanted to make sure more people were part of it but with Dia and Ria staying to look after Ruby, it didn’t seem like that would be possible. For now, she had no chance but to believe in Alisa and the others. 

“And the final group.” Yukiho then turned around to look at the wine-red haired girl. “Is the one with the real Riko. You are to go with Yohane. It’s only the two of you so it will be dangerous, but that also makes it less likely for them to think the real Riko is going here. I’m sorry but I’ll have to make you take a longer route starting down south, that will assure you get there last, that way the princess can walk in once the enemy has been lured elsewhere by the rest of us.”

“The name is Yoha-! Wait!! You actually called me by my name!!”

“Hm? Your name is Yohane isn’t it? What’s wrong with that?”

“Zura, it’s actually-!”

“Y-You are right!” Yohane quickly covered Hanamaru’s mouth with the palm of her hand. “That’s totally alright, hahaha!!”

“And finally, I would like you to have this.” Yukiho walked around, handing everyone a small bag. 

The orange haired girl opened it, only to see what looked like a bunch of tiny white cubes.

“Sugar…cubes?” Mari tilted her head.

“These can be used to restore your Legendary Power. Make sure to use them wisely. Usually, it would take about two hours to reach the Skytree by foot from here but we don’t know what we may face. I’m hoping we can all reunite safely there by sunset.” Yukiho then slammed her fist against her palm to pump herself up. “Alright! We are all set, let’s get started!!”  
With this, Yukiho activated the magic she borrowed from Kasane in order to change her own appearance and Mari’s into that of Riko. 

“OKAY!!” Mari jumped enthusiastically and walked towards Chika. She wrapped her arms around Chika and You’s shoulders and smiled. “LET’S GO!!”

“See you there~” Alisa waved at Yukiho while following them. 

The moment she stepped out of the dome and started walking towards the exit of the imperial garden, Chika’s heart started beating a lot faster. Up till now she had only been inside the UTX building and the imperial palace, but this time, she was finally about to give her proper first step into Tokyo, the city where it all started. 

From this point onward, there was no turning back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your patience! 
> 
> With this, we are also finally about to step into the next arc! Compared to the previous ones the structure for this one may be a little different but I hope you look forward to exploring some of Tokyo along with the others!
> 
> ☆☆☆☆☆
> 
> ☆ Check out the [Character Illustrations](https://twitter.com/YukiSetsuna/status/1001576688327778305) for the characters of my original story!
> 
> ☆ I'll be really grateful if you can please check out my original story: [Scarlet Finale!](https://www.honeyfeed.fm/chapters/2052) I will really appreciate it if you can make an account on that website (it's fast and easy!) and leave me any likes/comments over there, your support means a lot to me! Even simply clicking on the link above already helps me a lot! 
> 
> ☆ And if you want to keep track of me or just talk, I'm always on twitter [@YukiSetsuna](https://twitter.com/YukiSetsuna)


	54. Stage of Dreams - Part 1

“And so, the curtains opened on a new stage. As the world continued to perish, the landscape that gave shape to everyone’s lives had started to change as well. In the midst of new distorted scenery, a new corruption is born in the world. Now, forces filled with unspeakable malice have begun to make their move. It is only a matter of time before an inevitable encounter.”

_☆_

Chika followed the other members of the group she was assigned to towards the north entrance of the imperial garden. However, despite everyone’s high spirits, they came to a sudden stop on Alisa’s orders.

“Hm.” The long haired blonde turned around and stared carefully at the three girls before her. 

The orange haired girl couldn’t help but wonder what the imperial commander was up to. She brought a hand to her chin as she walked closer, staring at the girls intently as she examined them from her feet to the top of their head. After doing the same with You and Mari she finally moved towards the orange haired girl. 

“W-W-Wha…” Chika couldn’t help but react once Alisa’s face moved in too close for comfort. It was as though she didn’t have a good sense of what personal space was. But above all, just what was she up to? 

“Okay!” The long haired blonde finally clapped her hands together. “Please stay still.”

With that being said, in a matter of seconds, golden light enveloped them all and faded away just as sudden. Chika knew that this was the usual golden light of alchemy that she had seen many times before but-

“Eh?!”

Their clothes had completely changed. If anything, this was probably Chika’s first time wearing something like this. She couldn’t help but wonder if this actually looked cool or if it was getting uncomfortable. 

Everyone now matched clothes, including Alisa. Instead of their usual attire, they now wore classy black suits and soon Chika was able to realize that a briefcase had appeared on her hand. Since when was she holding on to this? The power of alchemy was truly scary. 

“Is this… Is this?!?!” You’s eyes sparkled brightly. “Is this a uniform?!”

“Are we really going to wear this under this sun?!” Chika could already feel her body burning and they weren’t even out of the shade from the garden’s trees just yet. 

“It’s a necessity for the operation!” Alisa nodded proudly. 

“Oh, Oh! I want a SHINING suit that lights up!” Mari, who currently looked just like the princess, spoke up while looking intently at Alisa.

“No-pe~” Alisa instead, simply gave her a pat on her head. “That would make you stand out way too much.”

“Why are these necessary though? I’ve never seen anyone wear any of these before!!” 

Chika still couldn’t accept this so easily. Sure, she lived in a sea-side town where it could get very hot at times, but that’s why she also wore clothes that were comfortable and kept her cool. This was just torture regardless of how good it looked. 

“You’ll see!” Alisa’s response wasn’t really all that helpful at all in the end. 

With this out of the way, the group resumed walking towards the exit of the garden. As she moved onward, Chika quickly checked the pockets of her suit but she was able to notice the tiny version of her gloves and the magic sealing seals were all right there. If possible she didn’t want to have to use any of those but there was no telling what would be waiting for them. 

Because the imperial garden had become a safe location, one of the reasons A-RISE wasn’t able to access the place so easily was thanks to a barrier that Yukiho had placed. This barrier made it so that you couldn’t even see the imperial palace from the outside, but the same was true the other way around to an extent. Even if some of the tall buildings were visible in the distance, most of the true city wasn’t visible from here. 

With the next step they would take, they would finally be walking out of that barrier, and into the city of Tokyo. For the first time, Chika would properly place foot in the city of legend where it all began. Despite knowing that a lot of danger waited, thinking of all the scenarios that had taken place here in her book, it was exciting. There was so much she wanted to see and so many places that she wanted to visit. Just what would be waiting for her now?

So far everything Chika had seen after forcefully leaving aside her hometown was a desolated and destroyed world; a world devoid of all life, and even when visiting smaller areas like Hakone, the place had been deserted with no trace of anyone living there anymore. 

However, this time it was the complete opposite. The reason why Alisa made them wear these clothes had become apparent a lot sooner than what she expected as well. 

As Chika stepped forward what waited for her was a city overflowing with life and activity all around. An immense amount of people from all ages walked all across the scenery before them. They flooded the streets, walking in different directions; some talking with each other, some rushing towards their own destinations. It was hard to believe that this many people could exist in this city alone. Aside from the many buildings that stood tall all around them, seeing how the streets themselves were like was difficult because of all the people flooding the walkways and the vast amount of cars running all around. 

“W-W-What is this?!” Chika finally found it in herself to speak up. 

“Oh? Are you SURPRISED?” Mari crossed her arms. “Everything up till now was really boring after all!”

“Surprised would be one way to put it.” You laughed nervously. “Everything up till now was deserted so I assumed the city would be empty as well.”

“Well it is usually a bit calmer but it is close to rush time.” Alisa tilted her head; this was a really regular scene for her.

“Still, this is weird.” You couldn’t process the scenery before her just yet. “When we visited the train station it looked abandoned. Wouldn’t it make sense for that place to be really busy as well?”

“Why would it need to be busy?” Alisa couldn’t really follow You’s logic at all.

“Ali.” Mari gave her a pat on the back. “I don’t think they are familiar with the way Tokyo has changed as of late.”

“Really?”

“I’ve only read about Tokyo from a book but it wasn’t like this at all.” Chika felt at a loss. 

After all, Tokyo was supposed to be a pretty big place but this was ridiculous. Walking behind Alisa and in between You and Mari was already difficult as it was. It felt like a single misstep would cause her to get dragged away into the endless wave of people that moved all around. The fact that they were even able to continue walking onward like this was almost unreal. 

“Ah!” Alisa finally snapped out of her own world and caught up. “You are more familiar with the way things used to be before the queen gained power over the land, correct?”

“I guess you could say that.” Following all of this talk about the queen was complicated too. Chika couldn’t help but to admire Riko for having the will to put up with that. 

“See? The reason Tokyo is so full of people now is exactly the same reason why everything else was possibly empty.” Alisa began to explain. “After the Sundown event, the incident that split the world, some places became too dangerous to live in, not to mention getting simple resources was difficult with the land starting to decay. But Tokyo remained safe thanks to the power of the crown, that’s why the people living in all those deserted placed live here now!”

“In other words! OVERPOPULATION!!” Mari resumed Alisa’s information in the most blatant way possible.

“No, I doubt that’s a good thing!” You immediately refuted after seeing how positive Mari sounded with that statement. 

“Yukiho was really upset about that too.” Alisa pointed out. “But I think it’s fun!”

“Eh?!” Chika and You both reacted at the same time.

“It is!!” Alisa passionately defended her point of view. “After all! The more people there are here the more chances you have to run into someone interesting!! That’s so fun!!”

(“Chika.”) The gray haired girl moved closer to Chika and whispered to her so that Alisa wouldn’t be able to listen. (“Is this really going to be okay?”)

(“Hmm.”) The orange haired girl whispered back. In the midst of their operation the most reliable person was someone that was incredibly difficult to read and-

“You don’t get it, do you Ali?” Mari was the one to give her a response. 

Could this be it? Could the mighty person who led The Liberation be the one with common sense?

“It’s not fun enough if you don’t high five everyone on the street!!”

“…” 

(“You. It was nice to meet you.” ) Yes. The most reliable person was someone incredibly difficult to read and the other one was… Mari.

(“Chika! Don’t give up just like that!!”) You felt like she was ready to run and be part of another team if it wasn’t because of the cool business uniform.

_☆_

Even if the girls had all blended in with the insane crowd of people, they still stood more than well enough to someone.

A girl walked across the street while humming a song. Her long brown hair, tied with a red ribbon on its back, swayed from side to side with every step. She wasn’t distressed by the sea of people at all, if anything it looked like she was enjoying herself.

_☆_

“Wait a second!” After a while, You’s eyes caught a glimpse of a new abnormality in the city. “What are those… tiny black boxes people are carrying?”

In fact it’s something she had noticed from the very beginning but the more she saw it the more bizarre it felt. Not even in all of her travels with the legendary captain had she seen anything like it. A lot of people carried smartphones with them and some focused all of their attention on them. Some seemed to be playing games as they walked by while others were too busy in the midst of phone calls as they walked along. Even if this was an ordinary scene for anyone else, that wasn’t the case for Chika and You. After living in a small sea-side town where the concept of a black and white TV was one of the most revolutionary things they had seen, something like this almost felt like traveling right into the future. 

“Oh? Their phones?” Alisa reached for her pocket, pulling one out as if nothing. “I have one too!”

“?!” You took Alisa’s phones in her hand with a lot of caution. “This…this is a phone?!”

The closest image of a phone in the captain’s head after all was one of those very old phones where you had to spin a wheel to be able to dial a number. And even then, it’s not something that was really used in Uchiura as much. 

“ _Wait_ ” Mari had a realization. “Can’t we use this to keep in contact with Yuki to make sure everyone is okay?”

“Hm. If you want the enemy to find us then sure.” Alisa’s response sounded rude, despite that not being her intention at all. Being blunt without thinking was just how she was. “A-RISE probably jammed all communications. Not to mention they are really popular in the city!”

“They are popular here?” 

Somehow, this gave Chika a tiny glimmer of hope. A-RISE being very popular in Tokyo is just like how it was described in her book. In fact, it seems like they stood out way before the Legendary Heroes came together as a group. If they still retained that popularity here, then at the very least that still matched with the content of the story. 

“It’s a bit sad.” Alisa brought a hand to her cheek. “All the citizens keep going about how “A-RISE is amazing but the imperial guards are useless!!” We work hard too you know!!” 

“What?” You could feel her head starting to hurt. “Why would people side with them?”

The way they viewed their current situation had shifted dramatically so fast. 

Chika couldn’t help but wonder if she should reconsider her view in the world itself. Up until now she had thought that the world as it is had completely changed. And while that might be true, one way or another, this was different. No matter how desolate and decaying the world was the place before her continued to move on as if nothing. People continued to live their lives as nothing. Even in the midst of what could be the end of times, life continued to move onward as if nothing was really happening. 

Looking at the people walking all around; a few seemed sad and troubled, but there were also groups of people having fun, laughing with each other. It was true that Chika couldn’t forget what she had seen on her way here, but after seeing such a world, was it okay to change it? And above all, was it okay for her to be the one to make that decision?

And in turn, that also led her to something even more confusing and strange. If everything was just like in her book, these people idolized the members of A-RISE as the heroes that helped save the peace in this city. So what was their true intention? If they wanted control over the city, something like the Imperial Crown was unnecessary. They already had the approval of all these people, they already had enough power over all of them, so what were they really after? But above all, to what extent was A-RISE truly their enemy? 

If they were popular, it was because they were still the heroes of the city. It was because one way or the other, they were still fighting to protect the lives of all these people. Despite everything, the only reason everyone here was able to carry on with their lives, the only reason they could be so carefree and laugh from the bottom of their hearts, it was thanks to A-RISE. Was it still okay to oppose someone like that? If you were to ask anyone else here, Chika and the others would definitely be the villains who infiltrated the city in order to break their current peace. They were the villains who had broken into the city to take down the heroes who protected it. Was this really okay? 

For now, she knew she had no choice but to go on with this. After all, everyone still had their reasons to be doing what they were doing. But she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off, something felt wrong. It was a sensation deep inside that acted like a warning, like something was telling her not to act without thinking.

“Hey, You?” The orange haired girl tried to call out to her friend. The best option, no matter what, was to talk things through, but… there was no response. “You?!” 

And that’s when it hit her. 

Everyone was gone. 

Somewhere down the line, she had lost track of her friends while distracted by her own thoughts. With so many people dressing the same walking in so many different directions, following one of them by mistake and taking a wrong turn wasn’t too difficult. 

Just what could she do?

Chika started to feel her hands getting colder at the thought of separating from everyone right here. The worst thing is that she didn’t have the leisure to stop and take a break or try to back track her steps. Even now the waves in the sea of people continued to flow endlessly. There were many people walking at Chika’s sides, in front and behind her. Crossing the street wasn’t an easy option with so many cars running non-stop. Earlier she did reach an intersection where they had to wait before crossing, but she hadn’t seen one of those in a while now. Simply put, she couldn’t even stop walking. 

Just what should she do at a time like this? She could start screaming and call out to them but doing it while surrounded by these many people was so embarrassing. Even if she knew that was probably the best option her very body rejected the notion. The further and further away she started to get, the more she started to regret not acting in time, and at the same time, the more it felt like it was too late to act.

How could she screw up like this so early in the operation? No matter where she looked, all she could see were people and buildings. 

Wait a moment. As she continued to walk Chika realized something that may be of help, even if there was no guarantee. This suitcase in her hand right now, it’s something that had appeared after Alisa had used her alchemy. In the first place, the purpose for this disguise was to be able to blend in, so maybe she also added items that would help blend in. If her hunch was right and there was one of those phones inside the suitcase, then she could use it to get in contact with them. 

No, that sounded fine and all but Alisa did mention that using one of them would get them spotted by the enemy in no time. Then again, there was still a chance that the enemy would find her either way, and having to fight someone all alone would place her at a really big disadvantage.

Aaah, this was terrible, terrible, terrible. The more time passed the more Chika felt like screaming at the top of her lungs. This wasn’t the time to be carried away, they had a mission to fulfill and she couldn’t bring the others down just because she wasn’t paying attention. She had to act and fast. 

Clenching her fist, Chika stopped walking and changed directions.

“Excuse me, excuse me!!” 

She began to force her way through. Even against the sea of people, even while being dragged away, she continued to force herself to move onward with all of her force. 

Crossing the street may not have been an option, but there was still one last escape route she could take. Not thinking about it earlier made her feel stupid; after all, the escape route was something that had been there from the very beginning. It was all the buildings that surrounded the city. 

After forcing her way, Chika could hear people raising their voice to yell at her. At some point, one of them tripped her, making her lose her balance. Because of this, the briefcase in her hands was sent flying into the air for a few seconds but the orange haired girl knew she couldn’t let go of it no matter what. 

She jumped up to catch it in midair and rolled across the solid ground while holding tightly unto it. At least, thanks to this she was able to land just next to the entrance of one of the tall buildings. Without hesitation, the orange haired girl crawled inside, finally freeing herself from the endless crowd. 

Chika took a deep breath and plopped down into the floor. This was terrible, and her clothes were all dirty now. If You saw the way this uniform ended up like she would get mad at her without a doubt. But that wasn’t the time for this, she had to check this briefcase and contact the others quick.

Eh? On closer inspection it looked like this was one of those briefcases that were locked with a password. It had four tiny silver wheels with letters that you could spin around to set the password but… what kind of password would a commander of the imperial guards use? 

Could she just punch through the briefcase with the power of Dark Matter to force it open? No, despite how useful it was against attacks powered by magic or alchemy, on its own Dark Matter didn’t really do anything other than to hurt others. At times like this it only reminded her of how powerless she truly was. 

The only option left was to guess the password, huh? If she gave them this in the first place, wouldn’t it have a password easy for them to guess? What if it was personalized? And it’s just four letters. With this in mind, she gave it a try with the first thing that came to mind, there was nothing to lose. 

[C][H][I][K]

Nothing happened. That didn’t seem right to begin with, it would have been an odd password for just four letters. Since Alisa was such a complicated person, maybe there wasn’t any real deeper meaning behind it. If Yukiho had been the one to give them that briefcase then maybe it would be easier- wait a moment. Yukiho… it was a long shot but Chika couldn’t help but think it was suspicious how close those two were to each other. 

No, that wouldn’t work, there’s no way that password would work but… she couldn’t lose anything by trying, right?

[Y][U][K][I]

-Click!-

And so, the briefcase easily opened. 

And so, an endless pile of papers all spread across the floor and all around Chika. Why did Alisa have to put all of these inside?! Let’s see, what else is in there?

“…”

All the items inside were very bizarre to say the least. Despite them being resized to fit inside the briefcase, the only things Chika was able to find were bowling pins and a tire. Alisa’s train of thought will forever be a mystery. Even though she had been so excited about finally being able to open the briefcase, Chika felt defeated once again. 

Wait. Come to think of it, where was this? 

In contrast to how crowded the place outside was, this place was eerily empty. 

Huh? Wait a moment. 

The orange haired girl turned around, looking at the doors from where she just entered. They were very tall transparent doors but, looking at the outside through them, the city looked empty? 

Where were all the endless waves of people that had been walking there just now? It somehow made her nervous to walk right out into the city. 

It was a long shot but was there a chance she could find someone that could help her in here. If it was common for people to have phones maybe her hope wasn’t lost just yet. 

Still, giving a quick glance at this place, Chika couldn’t escape the eerie sensation that something was off. 

The place was painted with white walls and decorated with a lot of black and blue signs that showed images of constellations in them. In front of her, there were letters hanging from the ceiling that read “TeNQ.” After walking past those letters, the more she looked at this place, the more it felt like it was some sort of space-themed location. 

The place was decorated with that looked like shining stars hanging from the ceiling and there was what looked like a crater in the middle of the floor. However, once Chika walked past it, it seemed to have the pattern of outer space drawn on it. 

“Hello?” The orange haired girl tried to call out for someone but there was no response. 

After reaching the end of the room, it looked like the place continued much deeper inside. There were doors that led into different corridors and a set of stairs that led upwards into the planetarium. Walking aimlessly, Chika walked into the upper floor only to encounter a round area full of fancy seats. It somehow resembled a movie theater but instead of a large screen in front, what Chika was able to see instead was a stage. 

“?”

She continued to walk across the empty room and towards the stage. The sound of her steps as she walked up the stage made her uneasy; the absolute silence in such a place was unnerving. She couldn’t put her finger on it but there was something off, there was something terribly wrong here. 

And then…

A light shone on top of the stage, illuminating a figure that stood right next to Chika.

“Welcome, to the stage of dreams!!” The girl who had become engulfed by radiant light announced. 

It was a short girl with long brown hair tied with a red ribbon on her back. Her light blue dress matched nicely with the clear blue of her eyes.

“Eh?!” Chika jumped back startled. “When did you get here?!”

And then! 

A loud applause and cheering from a great crowd reached Chika’s ears. 

What had been a completely empty room so far was now filled with spectators that cheered on the actress who now stood before them.

“W-W-When did?!”

“And so! The heroine comes face to face with the evil that has corrupted this world!” The brown haired girl announced and then pointed her finger at Chika. “Oh evil villain, listen to my words! For the sake of the world, and everyone’s future, I’ll stop you right here and right now!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your patience! I didn't plan to delay this update this much but I ended up getting really sick so I couldn't really get much done up till now;; That being said, I hope you enjoyed this update! With the chapters to set up this arc out of the way, I feel like this time we are truly stepping into the stage for the second act of the story! 
> 
> ☆☆☆☆☆
> 
> ☆ Check out the [Character Illustrations](https://twitter.com/YukiSetsuna/status/1001576688327778305) for the characters of my original story!
> 
> ☆ I'll be really grateful if you can please check out my original story: [Scarlet Finale!](https://www.honeyfeed.fm/chapters/2052) I will really appreciate it if you can make an account on that website (it's fast and easy!) and leave me any likes/comments over there, your support means a lot to me! Even simply clicking on the link above already helps me a lot! 
> 
> ☆ And if you want to keep track of me or just talk, I'm always on twitter [@YukiSetsuna](https://twitter.com/YukiSetsuna)


	55. Stage of Dreams - Part 2

What did that girl just say?

Regardless of what the intentions of the person who stood before Chika were, her words fell heavily on the orange haired girl. She unintentionally gave a step back as the girl with long brown hair gave a single step forward. 

That girl had called her the evil that corrupted this world. She had claimed that she would stop her for everyone’s sake. And to top it off, the massive crowd who flooded the spectator seats had exploded into a powerful cheer followed by an endless round of applause. 

It was a strange sensation, something she couldn’t explain so easily. While it’s true that Chika still questioned what her purpose and proper course of action was, for someone to throw the label of “evil” on her just like that. It was infuriating. 

That’s why her first response wasn’t to question who this person was or why a sudden crowd had appeared there; instead, she took a single step forward and frowned. 

“What are you talking about?!”

“Hm?” The long haired brunette brought a finger to her cheek. She stared at Chika blankly for a few seconds and then gave her a response without breaking character. “Playing fool with me isn’t going to work! But even for evil like you, I shall allow you to fight back and give you a proper end. Now! Come at me!!”

That response hadn’t really helped at all. Not only did it not answer Chika’s question in any way but it had ticked her off even more. Did this person really intend to fight her here? Judging by the fact that she was taking a fighting stance with her fists in front of her body, there was no doubt that this girl wasn’t really playing around. There was no telling what she could do in a direct combat either. 

If it really came down to this… Chika’s fingers slowly moved towards her pocket. At this point, she had two different options. She could reach for her gloves which allowed her to get better control over the power of Dark Matter, but even with those, that very power was too unpredictable. There was no real guarantee of what could happen, especially while surrounded by so many people who could all get affected by its power. 

Her second option was to reach for one of the paper seals that had been handed over to her by Yukiho, if she used one of those she could try to seal up whatever kind of magic this girl had before she could even use it but… something felt wrong about it. 

Chika couldn’t take her eyes away from the mysterious opponent before her. The stance that she had taken was similar to that of a boxer with her fists ready to strike. If her style of fighting was actually a direct physical confrontation, Chika’s confidence on being able to win this fight at all was breaking apart fast. The closest she had experienced something like that before was sparring once or twice with Kanan after begging a lot for a chance to do it and it never ended well. 

In other words, Dark Matter would place everyone in danger while the Magic Seal would place herself in danger. If neither of her current options were going to lead towards a positive result, she had no choice but to use a _secret technique_ that could only be used at times like this.

“Fine then!” 

Chika clenched her fists. In the end, she didn’t pull her gloves out of her pocket and she didn’t pull the paper seals either. 

“Now, come villain!!”

At that moment, the room had become even darker, almost pitch black. The only thing that illuminated the place were lights that focused on both actors who stood on top of the stage. But once Chika had accepted the challenge, there was a new change in the environment. 

Millions of tiny light particles appeared out of nowhere and floated all around them. Looking at this from the spectators’ seats, anyone would be able to see the image of a starry sky. After all, this room in particular was a planetarium. 

While standing in the middle of a vast starry heaven, Chika was able to notice a grin spread across the face of her opponent, she had become unusually content over the fact that Chika had decided to play along and accept her challenge. 

But Chika didn’t have time to lose, now that it had come to this she had to act right away. 

So with that being said.

“Bye bye!!”

The orange haired girl turned around and ran away as fast as she could. 

“Eh?! Where are you going? That’s not part of the script!!”

 

Chika was able to hear the crowd break into angry yells and boo-ing as she ran for it but she didn’t have the time to worry about that. With the place being so dark and most of the environment resembling a starry sky more than a room, it was really hard for the orange haired girl to even see anything as she moved onward. She had ran towards the right exit of the stage, and jumped down some stairs to reach the same ground level as most of the crowd. The moment she landed, she was close to losing her balance but her desperate attempt to run for it helped it regain it fast as she started running once again. 

In the midst of the crowd, she was able to hear the voice of the long haired brunette calling out to her from the stage but she couldn’t even make out what she was saying. For the time being it was clear than that was the most dangerous person here so she had to get away from her as fast as possible. 

Chika forced her way past the angry crowd. At the moment, she couldn’t help but feel like something was off about these people as she bumped into them but it’s not something that she had the time to give much thought to. 

At the very end, she managed to escape the crowd and used her hands to get a proper feeling of where the wall was. She followed the path of the wall until her eyes were finally able to make out a door by the corner which she entered with no hesitation. 

 

Once she was on the other side of the door, the environment had returned to normal, at least, as normal as it could for a place like this. Chika shut the door behind her, she had no idea if there was a way to lock it, so for now she decided to keep trying to find a place to hide. 

The environment around her now looked similar to the entrance of the building. The place was well lit, letting her see the walls and the floor here properly. It looked like this room connected to some corridors and another set of stairs. However, this room also continued to keep the theme of outer space. There were a lot of posters hanging around which seemed to have pictures with constellations and different planets. 

Even if Chika didn’t know where she was going, as long as she could keep going somewhere without being followed, it was more than enough for her. After this, she followed the corridor and entered a new room deeper into the place. 

The moment she entered the room, something caught Chika’s eyes immediately. On top of the usual decorations in this location, the walls were adorned with really large screens spread all across the place. 

These screens specially stood out because while this room wasn’t as dark as the planetarium, the light was still very dim, just enough for her to be able to see the place around her and where she was going, and dark enough for the lights in the screens to illuminate most of the place. 

Once the orange haired girl approached the screens closely, her attention was completely taken away by the images that reflected in them. They seemed to be static images with really high quality that showed a water blue new world before her. With the screens being almost the size of screens you would find at movie theaters, standing in front of them like this made her feel like she was taking a close look at the planet earth from outer space. She couldn’t take her eyes away from that pristine blue radiance.

Looking at this, it was difficult to believe that such a beautiful planet was rapidly decaying. It was hard to believe that this is the same place that had already been hit and divided thanks to a previous catastrophe and that this was also the place where everything she had seen up till now had taken place. 

Was this image actual live footage of the earth or was it just an image that was recorded and set on the screen beforehand? 

It was hard to tell and there was no way for Chika to know at all. Her experience with technology had been minimal. The closest exposure to it she had was after You brought a very old GameLive Color device she had found after exploring with her father. Compared to what was before her now it wasn’t much, but she remembered all the fun times she had with You and the round pink friend in the game very fondly. 

Looking at all of it, just what else was out there in the world that she had no idea about? This was possibly the very first time in her life that she had seen an image of the planet. The only reason she recognized it is because she had read about it before but it was moments like this where she couldn’t help but wonder if this was still reality. 

It almost felt like she had been living most of her life up till now with a blindfold covering her eyes and that was very scary. 

But a disturbing noise snapped Chika back into reality. It was the sound of steps. It didn’t seem like they were close enough, they were probably on the other room that connected to this one. With this place being so big there was also chance that whoever it was wouldn’t even come here but she wasn’t willing to take any chances, she had to keep moving and gain some more distance. 

Bidding farewell to the radiant images before her, Chika started to walk fast towards a corridor at the end of the room. She was being very careful to move fast without letting her steps make any noise, it was especially difficult because of how silent this location was in the first place. Hearing steps in the distance was very nerve wracking; it was almost like that girl would pop out of nowhere and then it would all be too late. 

Once she reached the end of the corridor, what she found was a little different. Up till now the corridors had linked to doors that connected to other rooms but this time she was met with a really wide stairway. The stairway was illuminated by a blue light underneath it. It seemed like this place specially stood out a lot, but with suspicious sounds coming from the room behind her she didn’t have much of an option. 

With this, she started to climb up the stairway. The higher up she went, the darker the place became and the more the blue light from under the stairs stood out. If she had a way to compare it, it was almost like climbing stairs that led towards heaven. Perhaps because of the strange emotions that this place had awakened inside her or because of the doubts in her heart, but it almost felt like she was walking towards something forbidden. It felt like she was walking toward something that would yet again affect her in more ways than one. But even knowing this, she couldn’t stop herself from moving onward. 

And then, she reached the new area at the very end. 

It was a very large room, much bigger than any of the places she had visited up till now. The area was shaped like a dome and was still very dark. There didn’t seem to be any stairs of corridors that connected towards anywhere else, so it seemed like this room was a dead end. However, the orange haired girl didn’t give that much thought. Instead, this time she was driven towards the source of illumination for this location. 

There was a massive hole in the center of the room that radiated with powerful light. 

And once the orange haired girl moved closer to get a better look at what was there…

“W-What is this?!”

The water blue new world which she had witnessed not so long ago had completely shattered apart. 

After looking at this and knowing what the current state of the world was, there no doubt that this one was live footage of what the current state of the world was. 

With a big portion of the water in the world drying up, most of its blue radiance had been replaced by a desolate void. Even the greenery that this planet was well known for was nowhere to be found. What Chika had seen was a world devoid of all color. 

No, it was more than that. It was a world that had lost all balance. 

A disturbing portion of the world before her up north looked completely frozen solid, and yet, some other parts had a disturbing red color running around it where blue seas would have been. Her geography was very rusty, but it wasn’t difficult to take a glimpse of Japan, the place where she currently stood. While the southern area didn’t seem that affected, there were strange, dark purple colored waves running around, engulfing most of the northern area and spreading towards other countries of Asia and possibly Europe. 

It didn’t seem like those strange waves had reached Tokyo yet at all, so there was no way for Chika to even begin to imagine what it was, but it must have been something very significant for it to be visible from outer space like that. 

But that wasn’t all there was to it. 

There was something else, another anomaly. It had gone right past Chika’s head because of the initial shock that was to witness the planet like this. It was also difficult to see at first because it was something that blended with the outer space that surrounded the planet, but there was clearly something else there, something sinister, sprouting from deep inside the earth, engulfing a lot of it and spreading out into the vast space. 

It’s not something Chika wanted to think about, it’s not something she wanted to acknowledge. But it was something she was already all too used to witnessing from up close, there was no denying it. 

The strange corruption that engulfed the planet was none other than Dark Matter. 

Just what was the meaning of this?

Chika took a step closer, opening her eyes wide and staring at her own hands. Why was the same strange power she had engulfing the world like this? Because of all the anomalies that she was able to witness, she had no evidence to say that this had been caused because of Dark Matter. But even then, her mind couldn’t help but to immediately think of the most logical conclusion. The power that she held in her hands is what was corrupting the world. If you were to look at it from that standpoint, the words the girl had brought up before made a lot more sense. 

_“Evil that has corrupted this world.”_

Is that what she really was?

Is that what her own hands were really tainted with?

If anyone were to look at it that way, then that girl wasn’t wrong. If anyone were to look at it that way then Chika was really the villain. Then she really needed to be stopped. After all, if this power was great enough to distort the world this much, there was no telling what could happen. 

After her confrontation with a possessed Riko, deep inside Chika had come to feel a strange kind of relief. At that moment, she had been able to gain better control over her power. But that wasn’t all, at that moment her power had definitely grown compared to before. 

At the very end Chika had truly felt like she was slowly becoming stronger, and deep inside she felt proud about it. If she became stronger she could become more useful to the people around her. If she became stronger it would be easier to protect those around her and it would be easier to keep up with anything that waited for her. 

But was that really it?

After seeing this, it was hard to believe that her getting stronger would help bring a happy end. After seeing this energy at a much stronger full force, just what would happen if she continued to feed the Dark Matter that rested in her own hands? 

Chika recalled how at the beginning of this, Yukiho had asked her if she was willing to go on with this. At the moment, Chika had accepted to move onward with this plan because she couldn’t abandon the others and wash away her hands after coming this far but… what if she was putting them in danger by being here? What if she was doing more harm than good simply by existing? 

That was a very dangerous train of thought. It was a train of thought that she wanted to stop immediately. The more she thought about it, the more it hurt her heart more than she expected. She had lived her entire life convinced that she was nothing more than a “normal monster,” a zero. She had lived her entirely life trying to find something that she could do, something that could make her special. For the first time, she was starting to feel like she had taken a step forward, but this wasn’t it. Right now, it felt like she had been walking backwards all along. It felt like trying to be special was a mistake, like she was in a position where she was better off out of the picture.

Just what should she do? The answer was becoming more and more blurry. The powerful radiance of the legendary heroes was getting farther and farther away. 

 

“I have found you!!”

But to stand here while lost in her own thoughts had been a mistake. She wasn’t in a position where she could simply let her guard down. The long haired brunette stood at the entrance of the room with a proud look in her face. 

“It doesn’t matter if you run away villain, and it doesn’t matter where you run to either.” The girl pointed at Chika. “I, Shizuku Osaka, will stop you!!”

At that moment, two lights illuminated the two girls who stood inside the room as if they were lights illuminating actors on a stage. Both stood at the edges of the dome with the corrupted world in-between them. 

There it was again. Chika couldn’t understand why this girl’s words made anger boil inside of her so much. 

It was ironic, despite of all her thoughts of self-depreciation telling her that she wasn’t needed, that she was a problem. The moment someone tried to confront her like this, even if she held the evil in the world in her hands, Chika couldn’t help but to want to fight back. 

“So be it then.” The orange haired girl spoke in a soft tone. 

If this is what it had come down to, then she had no choice but to face it head on. At the very beginning, Chika had believed that there was no reason for a confrontation with someone like this. Running away had become the best option because putting a lot of effort in this had been meaningless. 

But something felt different now. She couldn’t shake away the feeling that if she gave up, her last lifeline towards the radiance she seeked would be completely torn apart. She couldn’t help but feel that if she ran away from this again, then that would be the end for her. 

Was it selfish to think this way? It was. But even then, even so, the orange haired girl reached for her gloves, used the power of Dark Matter to fuel them up and wore them as a weapon. 

“No running away this time! Now, come!!”

“Fine then!!!!”

If she was going to do this, she was going to end it in one hit. If her experience of her past confrontations was anything to go by, a single touch fueled with Dark Matter was enough to knock even someone as strong as the Kurosawa sisters out of commission. On top of that, in her confrontation with Riko, she had been able to recall that power away upon contact. All she had to do was to get a single hit in a recall that power in a few seconds. 

It didn’t matter if her opponent could use magic, she could just nullify it. It didn’t matter if her attacks were physical, she would still get a chance to touch her. Unlike before, the crowd wasn’t around anymore, all she had to do was to let out her power. 

And so, dark energy flowed out of her gloves and spiraled around her body as she ran across the border of the room and towards where she girl was. 

Shizuku had taken a fighting stance as she noticed Chika approach. Despite finally seeing the power of the distortion of the world rushing towards her at full force, Shizuku wasn’t intimidated at all. Rather, a grin spread across her face once again. 

Of course, there was no way she would have stepped into a stage unprepared. 

Of course, there was no way she could take on the role of the hero without being able to embrace it at full force. 

But even as Chika approached, Shizuku didn’t move a single step forward. She stood her ground with decisiveness. After all, this was her stage. 

And yet, there was something her script had not accounted for. A new developing situation that had presented itself at the time of the climax. 

It all happened in an instant. 

“Chika!!” A new voice called out towards the orange haired girl. 

Immediately afterwards, a surging wave of ice ran from the entrance of the room and spread to form a wall between the villain and the hero of the story.

At the same time, Chika drew in closer, throwing in a punch and releasing the energy of Dark Matter. The ice that was meant to stop her path had come a little too late and the punch had come in direct contact with Shizuku who blocked with her arms in front of her body to protect herself. 

But the power of Dark Matter never reached the actress.

After all, her stage followed her rules. 

After all, the hero always wins.

You and Mari stood at the entrance of the room just behind Alisa who had released the wall of ice to separate Chika from the girl. Even if they had arrived a little too late, it had been enough for the imperial commander to realize something about this confrontation. But it had been all too late. 

Looking at the scene before her develop, You’s eyes opened wide as the power of Dark Matter was completely dissipated. And then, Chika was nowhere to be seen anymore. 

But it wasn’t that the orange haired girl had completely disappeared. 

Instead, they were able to see her body fall to floor. Except… her body had now become that of a tiny plush doll. 

Shizuku reached for the doll, holding it in her hands and then turned around to face the three girls who stood just behind her. 

The expression of the long haired brunette softened. The grin in her face had gone away and instead of that hot blooded hero, she now radiated a much calmer aura. 

You could feel her body freezing in the spot but at the same time she could feel her body almost forcing itself to run towards that girl and confront her. However, she was immediately stopped by Mari who grabbed her waist and Alisa who extended her arm in front of her. 

But even then, Shizuku simple bowed at them while holding the Chika doll in her hands, and spoke with a soft voice.

“And with this, the curtains fall and close off this chapter. Thank you for coming.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your patience! I was planning to have this out much earlier but I was haunted last week by constant blackouts thanks to storms. 
> 
> Anyway, it might have been easy to guess from the previous chapter but we finally have our second PDP girl appear in the story! I hope you look forward to seeing more of our star actress! 
> 
>  
> 
> ☆☆☆☆☆
> 
> ☆ Check out the [Character Illustrations](https://twitter.com/YukiSetsuna/status/1001576688327778305) for the characters of my original story!
> 
> ☆ I'll be really grateful if you can please check out my original story: [Scarlet Finale!](https://www.honeyfeed.fm/chapters/2052) I will really appreciate it if you can make an account on that website (it's fast and easy!) and leave me any likes/comments over there, your support means a lot to me! Even simply clicking on the link above already helps me a lot! 
> 
> ☆ And if you want to keep track of me or just talk, I'm always on twitter [@YukiSetsuna](https://twitter.com/YukiSetsuna)


	56. Stage of Dreams - Part 3

Time had come to a stop for the young captain. Everything had happened a little too fast for her to be able to process it.

This adventure had started after leaving the Imperial Palace. It was soon enough that she was thrown into a new and unknown world full of things she could have never imagined. While in that midst of that sea of people, the dearest person to her had gone missing. She didn't even realize immediately, it was only until Alisa had noticed and taken action, moving their trajectory towards this location. 

Every passing second spent traveling across the city towards this place was a second that the captain had lived in absolutely anguish. But even that couldn't compare to what took place now. Even that couldn't compare to the absolute terror caused by the image that reflected on her eyes. 

Chika had collapsed to the ground, but that wasn't all, somehow, her body had been turned into that of a tiny, lifeless doll.

At that moment, all of her rushing emotions had been pushed to the side. The captain's head had been clouded by unbelievable anger. She wanted to shout, to run, to do _something._ But she couldn't even think of a proper course of action. Her body had forcefully tried to approach the person who had caused this, a long brown haired girl with a ribbon tied behind her back. However, she had been stopped by her companions before she could do anything at all. 

Alisa, the imperial guard, had extended her arm out in front of her while Mari had been quick to get a hold of her and secure her so that she couldn't move. No matter how much the captain struggled, there was nothing that she could do. 

"Let me go!! I have to go!!" She could hear her own voice shouting but she wasn't conscious enough to think about her actions before doing anything. "I have to save her!!"

"You need to calm down!!" Mari strengthened her grasp on the girl's torso. 

"Hm?" Shizuku finally reacted to the commotion before her. Despite being the target of three enemies and so many negative emotions, she seemed to be living inside her own little world and paying little mind to the events before her. She examined the door in her hands and then moved her sight up towards the three girls in front of her. "You must be her friends, do you want her back?"

But she didn't give them the time to let them give out a response. As if taunting them, she simply stepped back, slowly, carefully. The room where they were was a room with the shape of a really large dome. The room was a dead end. With Alisa, You and Mari standing by the entrance, the only exit was currently sealed, there was no way for Shizuku to escape. Or at least, that's the assumption that they had made. 

After all, there was something that stood out in that room. A crater in the middle of the floor where the image of the planet was reflected. It was the image that had showed Chika a terrifying possibility about the current state of the world, one that had clouded her mind with insecurities. 

But for Shizuku it was different; because she was the heroine, because this was the world she wanted to protect. So she wouldn't run away from it. So instead, she leaned backwards, letting her entire body fall into that world. In an instant, her body was completely out of sight. 

There was no way for either You or Mari to had been able to predict that, but it was different for Alisa. After all, she specialized in combat. She had an excellent keen eye for unpredictability, making someone like Shizuku one of the most entertaining opponents. 

"No matter what you do, just observe." 

That was the warning that Alisa had given them before giving chase. Almost as sudden as Shizuku's disappearance, Alisa had given a long jump, moving towards the crater at the center of the room.

Despite not fully grasping Alisa's words they had no choice but to follow her. After Mari had let go of her, You immediately ran towards the crater that showed the image of the world. There was no sight of the girls who had jumped into the place below from here. For just a second, she was taken aback by the mystic image of a broken world that shone in front of her, but You knew she didn't have the time to stand here and contemplate it. 

"Let's go!" You called out to Mari who seemed to be a little hesitant about jumping.

"Don't do anything once we are there _okay?_ Ali said to observe, so we should leave it to her."

To leave it to someone else. An scenario where Alisa would jump in and save the day almost sounded ideal. It wasn't that it was something impossible either, but something about that didn't sit right with You. Washing her hands and simply watching while someone important was in trouble, that wasn't something a captain would do at all. 

But this wasn't the time to argue either. Without giving Mari a response, You jumped into the crater. She could feel her body flying across the air for a few seconds. Despite crashing right into the reflected world, she had gone right through it as, almost as if it had been a transparent image all along. 

As she fell however, something else distracted from even this long fall. It was the sound of a cheering crowd. 

And in seconds, she had finally landed. Despite the long fall, her legs were strong enough to withstand the impact, and of course, the scenario all around her had changed entirely.

Upon landing, the sound of the cheering crowd had become a lot louder. Despite this room being really dark, it was easy to tell they were standing on top of a stage. It was the same stage where Chika had first encountered Shizuku, and it was the same crowd who had remained here all along. But even that loud cheering came to a stop to let the voice of the lead actress spread across the hall. 

"Welcome to the stage of dreams!" 

Stage lights shone from high above, illuminating the spots where Shizuku and Alisa stood. Despite You and Mari standing just a few steps behind Alisa, they were not illuminated, it was almost if they weren't there at all.

"Even though the villain has fallen..." Shizuku began to speak. It was as though her switch had been flipped again. The entire aura around her had snapped from a calm one to a much more energetic one, the tone of her voice had become a lot more upbeat and full of emotion in just an instant. "The roots of evil in this world are never-ending! Now, a new evil has risen up to seek revenge for their fallen comrade, but even then, the hero will not fall!" 

Alisa remained still for a few seconds. The sudden change in Shizuku's attitude had taken her aback, but even in a moment of danger like this one, she couldn't help but to feel a wave of excitement surging deep inside of her. An unpredictable enemy, a confrontation on top of a stage, a building up story in front of her very eyes. It was the kind of thing that fascinated Alisa. 

Her fingers were fast to move towards the hilt of her blade, but slow to embrace it. With every passing second she was trying to think properly. She couldn't get carried away, not even in a exciting stage like this one, because she wasn't the only one who stood here. She couldn't let harm befall the two girls who stood close by, but... she couldn't just ignore such a chance either.

"Aren't good and evil just convenient concepts?" Alisa unsheathed her sword, pointing it towards the girl before her. To Shizuku's surprise, Alisa's voice was powerful, vibrant, full of emotion, just like a shining actress. "For even if you call yourself the hero your actions contradict your words. For even if I'm truly evil even evil has something important to protect!!"

At that moment, You and Mari were almost blown away by a powerful gust of wind which soon took the shape of frozen solid ice. A wave of ice spread across the stage from the spot where Alisa was standing, as she plunged forward, the wave of ice dashed at full speed towards her target. But even then, Shizuku didn't falter. Not even as Alisa's blade flew towards her, ready to slash her apart, Shizuku did not take a single step backwards.

And as the confrontation broke out, the cheering from the crowd exploded.

"D-Did Alisa just miss?!" You questioned out loud as she was able to notice none of her attacks were able to connect against her opponent.

"Hm." Mari, who had the appearance of the princess, brought a hand to her chin as she observed.

But in truth Alisa hadn't missed, she had simply stopped her attacks millimeters before they could make direct contact with Shizuku's body. 

"What's the matter?" Alisa taunted her. "Are you going to stop me by standing there?"

"That's right." Shizuku smiled, casually sliding her fingers across Alisa's blade, moving closer and closer towards the long haired blonde. "After all, you already figured it out, didn't you? You won't be able to lay a single finger on me."

"Heh, I thought so." To think this girl wasn't intimidated in the slightest after the attack she had launched. Even though Alisa had already figured out what her secret was, it looked like this would be a much harder situation to handle. "In that case, as the evil I am, I'll take down the lingering lives of this world."

And so, Alisa turned around. Instead of targeting Shizuku, her enemy had changed.

"W-What is she-!?" You couldn't comprehend her actions.

Alisa was now facing the stage, and without remorse, she had launched a large wave of ice magic that ran straight towards the audience, freezing everyone on the spot. Immediately afterwards, Alisa held the grip of her blade a lot more tighter. Judging by her movement, she planned to release a large slash that would break apart the frozen audience into little pieces.

"?!" For the first time, Shizuku looked troubled. 

The long haired brunette had reacted, jumping in front of Alisa. Her fists had become shrouded by a bright light blue spark as she launched an attack towards Alisa's blade in order to stop her. The force behind Shizuku's fist had been a lot higher than anything Alisa was expecting forcing her to stagger backwards a little.

However, there was something else she had lost track of, something the captain had noticed immediately.

Now that Shizuku was standing right before her, Alisa swung her blade forward, it would be impossible to miss at this distance but… This time instead of standing still, Shizuku held the Chika doll forward, using it as a shield. It had happened fast enough for Alisa to be unable to stop her strike.

Upon noticing this, You dashed forward using all of her strength. She ran with the speed of a bullet stepping right between Alisa and Shizuku. Having another person stepping in front of her triggered Alisa’s reflexes, making her stop her hand for half a second in order to change trajectory. Alisa’s blade danced through the air, moving in the motion of a crescent moon. Thanks to this, the strike didn’t hit the captain and the trajectory changed enough to miss Chika, but something had gone wrong along the way.

After all, Alisa’s attack was never able to connect and Shizuku hadn’t taken any damage from her blade. 

Instead, a tiny Alisa doll fell right in front of You’s feet.

The young captain stood on the spot dumbfounded. This was just like before, but this time she was standing right there. She was close enough that she should have been able to see Shizuku activate her magic but Shizuku hadn’t done anything… so how? 

But that had started a whole new problem for them. Almost immediately after Alisa had been defeated, stage lights shone from above over both You and Mari. 

"Are you ready for the encore?" Shizuku announced with enthusiasm, to what the now unfrozen crowd responded with a roaring applause. 

With the eyes of the audience all over her and with Shizuku standing just before her, You was left with really little options other than having to fight back with her bare hands. 

This situation was terribly bad for the captain. Nor only was she completely unable to understand what Shizuku's magic was and how did she turn the others into dolls so easily, but her magic was completely sealed in order to prevent Erena's mind control to take over. 

No, maybe the answer was there. After all, even if her magic was sealed she had received the option to seal the magic of her opponents as well, maybe there was a solution there.

You gave a single step back while locking her sight into Shizuku's eyes. She slowly moved her hand towards the pocket of her business suit while keeping track of every small movement the brown haired girl would do. 

And so, Shizuku gave one single step forward. You could feel all of the muscles in her body tensing up. Was she coming towards her with an attack? If so, this was now or never.

She wouldn't give Shizuku the chance to let any of her attacks land, whatever they were. If it came down to speed and overall physical advantage, You had confidence that she had the upper hand. After all, the girl before her, even though she was terrifying she looked frail and had a small frame. On the other hand, You was exceedingly athletic and had the strength and stamina to swim for long distances and long periods of time. 

With a swing of her hand, she grabbed one of the magic seals and swung her arm towards Shizuku at full force. 

But that had never managed to connect with the actress.

The reason this time however, wasn't because of the captain falling to Shizuku's attack.

"OKAY~!" A girl who had the appearance of the princess had finally made her move. "Sorry but this play is _OVER!"_

With one of her weapons in her hand, Mari let out a barrage of energy blasts all across the floor, lifting up large clouds of smoke and dust. In the commotion, You was able to feel someone's grasp before she was dragged away against her will. 

The way they escaped was ironically enough, similar to the way they had stepped into this stage. You's feet quickly left the ground as Mari made them both fly upwards using the sheer force of her plasma shots as a propulsion. The two continued to fly high until they had returned to the room from within the crater right at the center.

Even though escaping there would gain them some time, of course it wouldn't be enough. But it was something that Mari was well aware of. Even if it meant sealing themselves into a dead end, it was okay as long as that meant that the enemy couldn't get to them. 

Immediately after landing, Mari let go of You and fired another shot, this time towards the crater at the center of the room. This shot was a lot different than all of her previous attacks, instead of sending a destructive blast downwards, Mari's energy spread across the crater, creating a shield of plasma that sealed the hole. Shen then ran towards the door that led into the room, and instead of locking the door, she created a second shield of plasma to fill it up. No matter what the enemy's powers were, there was no way for someone to go through these unscathed.

"Why did you do that?" You finally reacted her. "I was about to seal her magic!"

" _No, no._ " Mari shook her head. "Remember what Ali said? We should observe."

"I know she said that but... I was standing right there when Alisa was turned into a doll. No matter how much attention I tried to pay, I couldn't realize the trick behind it." 

"Hm." Mari crossed her arms. "Well, that's OKAY! After all, look!" 

She then showed You what she held in her hands. It was a tiny doll in the shape of Alisa, in the commotion, she had managed to pick it up just as they escaped. 

"Alisa!" You could feel relief washing down her body. "What about Chika?!"

But Mari simply shook her head, completely breaking apart You's relief. Of course, it was understandable if Mari hadn't been able to save her as well. Unlike Alisa who lied down on the ground, Chika was on Shizuku's hands.

A much stronger sensation of worry was starting to envelop You. Even though they were safe right now there was no telling for how long it would remain that way. Even if they confronted that girl once again, there was no telling if they would be able to make it out safely, there was no telling if they could save anyone at all. No, You knew she had to stop this train of thought. She had seen it time and time again. Letting negative circumstances cloud the mind of the captain was dangerous. At times like this, a captain had to remain rational in order to guide their crew to victory. She had to calm down, she had to think. She couldn't give up, she just had to find a way out of this situation. 

Looking at this from another perspective, she wasn't alone. Mari was here. Mari who was supposed to be the leader of The Liberation. You knew she was an extremely powerful and reliable person, if she had her support there would definitely be a way out of this, it wasn't over just yet. 

"Right." You sat down on the floor. She took a deep breath as she stared at the bright light from Mari's plasma shield illuminating the room. "I need to calm down, we just have to come up with a plan and then we'll be able to save Chika for sure!"

"Hm?" But Mari's words completely changed everything. "Do we really need to?" 

"...?" 

"We got Alisa back, even if she's a doll, I'm sure Yuki can find a way to dispel this. Our objective is to make it to Tokyo Skytree. If one of us has fallen then it can't be helped, our best course of action is to escape right now." 

"W-What are you saying?" 

You could hardly believe the words coming out of Mari's mouth. That person who was always bright and full of life continued to speak with a cold tone. It was almost as though she was a completely different person. 

"Are you still _confused?_ " Mari tilted her head to the side. "I'm saying we don't need to save to Chika. On the bright side, her power can be really _dangerous_ to us. It throws a wrench into my plans so maybe this is for the best."

"You can't be serious." You stood up. She clenched Mari's collar and slammed her against the wall with a lot of force. "This isn't the time to be joking around!!"

The impact must have hurt enough or done something, causing Yukiho's magic to dissipate, making Mari regain her proper appearance. But even then, the cold expression in her eyes didn't change. Her tone of voice didn't change. Her train of thought didn't change. 

"I'm not joking."

Hearing those words made You feel like something inside her was breaking. She had seen this person like a glimmer of hope just a few seconds ago, but now, it was the total opposite. Come to think of it, it wasn't just now, Mari had been acting strange for a while now. It was something that You hadn't given that much thought to but... going back to the time they were reunited at the Imperial Palace... Mari had announced that The Liberation would be disbanded, that had led Dia to confront her but even then Mari had not given anyone a proper answer. 

And yet, back when they were speaking with Riko, Mari had mentioned that making The Liberation, a group to save those in need, had been her dream. 

Was this person really giving up on her dreams just like that? Was this person really giving up on everyone just like that? Was everything connected, even now? Did Mari simply not care anymore? If so, then it was all futile.

"How...?" You's hands had started to shake. Was it sadness? Anger? Disappointment? Fear? Or maybe a mix of everything. "How can you be like this? How can you just abandon Chika like she has nothing to do with you?!"

Ah, this was such a familiar position to be in. Despite her calm outlook, Mari's heart had started to hurt. To be like this, pinned against a wall, taking the full force of someone's negative emotions. It was such a familiar scene. It's not like it had to be this way. At the very end, it was always like this because of her. She was well aware it was her own fault, but it's not like she could do something about that easily. She knew everything could be avoided if she expressed herself properly, and yet, she couldn't find the proper words to do it.

After all, why did everyone always want to know her thoughts? Why did everyone always care so much about what was on her mind? It's not like expressing herself would change much. It's not like others would agree with her even if she explained everything.

Realistically, even if she was well aware that Chika was someone really important for the people around her, it was someone that she still hardly knew. It was someone that she had hardly even interacted with. Her presence had always been there as a third party, as a person that was close to her friends but not as someone who she had created a deep connection with. Additionally, it was true that her powers were dangerous. It was true that she held Dark Matter in her hands, the very power who had caused her so much pain before.

But no, that wasn't it. Even if that was one of her possible reasoning in order to excuse her current actions, she knew that deep inside, that wasn't it. She knew that there was more to it, that there was something she didn't want so accept or acknowledge.

After all, this scene was also familiar the other way around. All the emotions that the young captain was throwing at her, they were emotions that she knew all too well. But at the same time, they were emotions which she couldn't allow herself to experience anymore.

And so, a sudden surge of emotions led Mari to speak up without thinking. 

"Chika this, Chika that." Was it anger? Sadness? Or maybe, Envy. "If you keep basing all your actions and put all of your happiness into one single person, it's not going to end well for you."

"Wha-?"

"You need to let go of the idea that someone is always going to be there for you, and you need to let go of the idea that you will always be there for them. Otherwise, you will only end up getting hurt."

It was funny, even if she said these things to You. Did she really mean them? Or rather, as she spoke, she couldn't help but feel like these were things that she kept telling to herself. She couldn't help but feel like these were the ideas that she had to let go of. And yet, here she was, tormenting a young girl who had nothing to do with this.

"That's not it." You whispered under her breath. Her grip on Mari loosened. "You don't get it." 

"Is that all you have to say? At the very end, aren't you latching unto someone because you don't want to be alone?"

"You really... really... REALLY... DON'T GET IT!!"

The captain's grip strengthened twice as much this time and Mari was met with a strong headbutt before You pinned her against the floor.

"Is that really how you see things?! If so, you are being incredibly stupid and selfish!!"

"...?!" Mari couldn't even find any words to respond with and couldn't do anything else but to take all of You's words in.

"Thinking that way means you are only thinking about yourself!! If you have made a special connection with someone, and if that someone wants to be with you forever, then that's what you do!! You stay with them forever!! This isn't about me not wanting to be alone or not. This isn't about me only caring about Chika! Do you know why? Because Chika cares about me as well! Because she would come running to save me as well!! Washing your hands over the excuse that friendships and connections have an inevitable end is just ignoring how those close to you feel!!!"

Mari bit her lower lip. She knew that there was truth to the captain's words. She knew that deep inside she didn't want to think this way. But... after all she's been through... after being all alone and then finding someone who would stay at her side. After finding someone who promised would always be there and after life had torn them apart, she couldn't help but to think like this. Because getting close to others was scary, because making connections with others was scary.

Because at the very end, there was no guarantee that she wouldn't be left all alone again. Because at the very end, there was no guarantee that destiny itself wouldn't get on her way again. That's why even after reuniting with both Dia and Kanan, she had tried to keep a distance. That's why, even then, she had built up a wall around her heart. Because nothing good came of getting invested in others. But... just like the captain said, that was selfish. Keeping others away for the sake of her own safety was selfish. Ignoring their feelings for the sake of her own was selfish, she was very well aware of that but...

"If you are going to be stupid on your own so be it. It's true that I may still be immature and have a lot to learn, it's true that I may not be able to save everyone but... I can't let that stop me. A captain that sacrifices their crew for their own gain is a disgrace. If you really think it's fine for us to escape by leaving someone behind, then maybe it was a good thing that you disbanded The Liberation. If you are going to act like this, you aren't qualified to be a leader!!"

Those last words made Mari feel like someone had poured cold water all over her body. Up until now, everyone had always argued with her, but no one had ever pointed things out in such a blunt way. Not even people like Dia or Yukiho had ever been this direct with her. Was it because they were scared they didn't know how she would react? Was it because part of them had already given up? But this was different. The captain had screamed all these harsh words at her without remorse. 

Despite closing her heart off, the young, innocent and lonely girl inside Mari was still always there. Despite everything, she was still herself. So that's why, to save everyone, to stop a tragedy like the one she lived from happening again, to prevent others from being separated like she was, that had been her dream. 

But what the captain had said was right. She was being selfish. Someone like this wouldn't be able to save everyone. How could she call herself a leader if she couldn't do anything for one single person? 

It was almost as though You's words had blown apart the walls across her heart and reached her. 

"I'm sorry." Before she could realize it, tears had started to stream down her face. "I'm really sorry."

The captain hadn't expected her to react like that. She hadn't expected her own words to get through. And even now, Mari's words had still struck her own heart as well and awakened insecurities that she didn't want to face. But somehow, she felt like this girl's apology were honest words that came from the bottom of her heart. 

Letting go of her grasp on Mari, You instead enveloped her with a tight embrace, letting Mari bury her face into her chest as she broke down, letting all of her emotions out.

 

Just outside the room, sitting on the stairway with a sad expression and listening to everything. "So that's how it is." Shizuku spoke as she embraced her legs with her arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the really, really long delay this time. I ended up taking a longer break than expected because I wasn't feeling too well, but I'm glad that I'm finally able to bring you this update!
> 
> Even though we did get to take a look at her past, ever since she was introduced Mari is one of the characters I believe we had explored the least. So I wanted to take this chance and shift some of the focus towards her!
> 
> Usually as you can tell, You has been the character that takes up the role of the leader in emergencies but I believe Mari is also the kind of character who also fits that role, as such, I thought it would be really interesting to see what would happen in a situation when everything came down to the two of them being the only ones left to take action, I hope you liked this chapter! I'll do my best to bring you the next one right on October 5th, and from there I'll try to go back to updates every Friday and Saturday!
> 
> ☆ Extra Fun Fact: Thrilling☆Sunshine is a story that as I've mentioned a few other times, has quite a bit of references to the game: Golden Sun. If anyone is interested, I'm live tweeting all of Golden Sun over at my twitter with story recaps so you can get to live the experience! If you are interested, you can find it [by clicking here!](https://twitter.com/YukiSetsuna/status/1041937469296521216)
> 
> ☆☆☆☆☆
> 
> ☆ Check out the [Character Illustrations](https://twitter.com/YukiSetsuna/status/1001576688327778305) for the characters of my original story!
> 
> ☆ I'll be really grateful if you can please check out my original story: [Scarlet Finale!](https://www.honeyfeed.fm/chapters/2052) I will really appreciate it if you can make an account on that website (it's fast and easy!) and leave me any likes/comments over there, your support means a lot to me! Even simply clicking on the link above already helps me a lot! 
> 
> ☆ And if you want to keep track of me or just talk, I'm always on twitter [@YukiSetsuna](https://twitter.com/YukiSetsuna)


	57. Stage of Dreams - Part 4

“If that is how it is then maybe… there is no need for this performance to continue any further.” 

A young girl whispered to herself. Shizuku stood just outside the room where You and Mari were. She was unable to approach them even if she tried. That was thanks to Mari’s plasma barriers covering all the possible entrances. At first, she had followed them here in order to give chase and bring everything to a close but… listening to them had changed things. Listening to their worries, listening to them speaking their hearts out, it wasn’t so simple to make an enemy out of someone like that. 

But… it’s not like Shizuku had approached them for no reason in the first place. Even if she had to bear with this alone right now, there had been a reason for everything. There had been a reason for confronting this group, there had been a reason why she needed to push them this far. 

Was it because she admired A-RISE as the heroes of the city and was on their side or was it because of other personal motives? Either way, it was still important enough for her to take action. It was no time to let her heart grow weak; after all, she had to play the role of the heroine.

But after listening to this, she stared at the doll of Chika in her hands. Maybe her mission had already been accomplished. Maybe she had already _triggered a change in this world._ If that was the case, she could let Chika go and let the group resume on their journey. 

It wasn’t something that she could decide to easily however, not after coming this far. Or rather, it was exactly because of the reason why she had come this far in the place.

Right now she was alone in this room and there was no one to observe her, it was a good time for her to check on something _that no one else was supposed to witness._

Reaching for her pocket, Shizuku pulled out what looked like a small and round golden emblem. The emblem was a circle with what looked like a compass inside but thanks to the spikes coming out of the compass’ empty spaces, it also resembled a star. On top of that symbol there were three letters on top colored in red that read “NHS.” 

Upon placing her finger over the emblem, it light up with a faint blue light, it was almost the same as turning on an electronic device. Seconds later, a tiny hologram came out, the hologram showed the image of a floating white orb with two silver orbits spinning around it but… it didn’t seem like Shizuku witnessed anything she wanted to see. The white orb’s color began to flicker into a strong red light; it was almost like looking at an emergency alarm. Thanks to the frown on Shizuku’s face, it didn’t seem like that was a good sign at all. 

Turning off the device and putting it away, Shizuku closed her eyes and took a deep breath. No matter how much she wanted to end the confrontation already, it didn’t seem like it was a choice anymore, not yet. Not until she could protect this world. 

She placed her hand over her chest, concentrating on her fast heartbeat. That wasn’t good, she had to calm down. A good actress would be able to calm down no matter the situation, she needed to keep her cool and concentrate on what she had to do. It was alright, it’s alright. Even if it’s come to this, it’s going to be okay. All she needed to do was to get into her role and give the best performance she could ever give. 

However, something had changed. Something unexpected had happened. 

Shizuku opened her eyes wide and jumped up to her feet the moment a loud, crashing noise was able to reach her ears. And then, what she saw was…

_☆_

So what would happen if we moved the clock a few seconds back?

Two girls lied down in the midst of the locked room. The young captain had embraced Mari who had let her emotions explode, letting tears roll down her cheek as she continued to apologize. However, for just a moment, her lips curled up into a smile. Her mouth moved closer and closer to the captain’s ear letting out whispers. 

“Little You, you are still being too naive~” 

Those were the last words that reached the captain before it happened. 

Seconds later, the barriers were dispelled and You’s body was sent flying out of the room and crashing into the floor. 

This is when Shizuku was startled by the loud noise. What she was able to see was the body of the gray haired girl being hurled outside and into the large stairway. After crashing into the cold floor, the impact was so strong that You’s body bounced off the floor and was sent towards the long stairway. By the looks of it, it didn’t seem like she was able to regain enough movement of her own body in order to stop herself or even attempt to cushion the fall, at this rate the damage she would take from falling through such a large stairway could result fatal. 

The eyes of the brown haired, red ribbon girl opened wide. What did just happen? What was the meaning of this? Even if You was supposed to be an enemy, even if Shizuku herself was the one who had placed them in danger in the first place, she couldn’t stand by just like that. This isn’t how things were supposed to happen, this isn’t how the script was supposed to develop. Before her mind could make a choice, her own body had already moved forward, jumping right in front of the stairway and catching You in midair before she could fall. 

Once she had taken in all of You’s weight together with the impulse, it had become a much more difficult task than what it looked like. Shizuku’s feet slowly slid across the floor of the building, barely stopping just before she could fall down the stairs herself. She wasn’t confident enough in being able to retain her balance, so she leaned forward, letting herself fall to the safer, solid ground together with the captain. 

“Are you oka-”

Shizuku’s first reaction was to check on the girl, however You was faster to react, grasping Shizuku by her collar and pulling her face closer. 

“We need to get away from here.”

“What?”

“Don’t get me wrong, I know you are still the enemy. But I need you in order to return Chika back to normal, so I can’t let you die just like that!”

The captain’s hands were shaking as she spoke. By the look on Shizuku’s face, it looked like her words had truly reached her. Even if Shizuku didn’t understand the situation, You’s voice and expression were convincing, the weight behind her words was convincing. But what did she mean by “die?” Even if that had been a serious confrontation from the very start the stakes had never been that high. Did she underestimate who she was dealing with? Even if You had been thrown into such a sudden situation, there was no telling what would happen next. 

But an answer would come soon enough. 

“What’s this, You? The moment you are on your own you run and ask for help from even the enemy?” 

A tall, blonde girl walked out of the next room. She glared at both girls with a menacing aura flowing out of her, and yet, the expression in her face was that of someone having fun. 

“I guess it does save me some TROUBLE! I’ll take care of you both and then resume the mission with Ali alone, that’s really _simple_ if you think about it!”

The blonde the pointed the gun towards both of them, her fingers just centimeters away from the trigger. 

“Wait.” Shizuku stepped forward. “If that is the case then…”

“No!” You tackled the actress, taking a solid grasp of her waist. “I told you we are getting out of here! Full-speed ahead!”

“But wait I-!!”

“Even heroes need to know when to fall back!!”  
Focusing all of her strength in her legs, You gave a really strong jump and leaped right out of the stairs, all while holding Shizuku. Since the room was small enough, she used her feet to bounce off the wall, shortening the distance until they could make it to the lower floor.

“Hurry, we need to keep going before she catches up!”

You didn’t waste any second, after letting Shizuku down, she grasped her wrist, forcefully making her stand up and pulling her away as she ran deeper into the space museum. 

What’s this? What was happening? No. Shizuku was fast to realize the big mistake that she was making. Someone that would panic because of a change in the script wasn’t qualified to be standing on top of the stage. Even if the script had changed, improvisation was a given, it was a skill she had to master. It seemed like at this point, she had no choice but to play along with this turn of events. 

“You are right, let’s go!” She finally gave the captain a response, following her at full speed. 

Of course they didn’t have the leisure to take their time and stop, loud footsteps rushing towards their location faster and faster resounded across the silence of the museum. You could feel her heart beating faster and faster as she led the way, moving deeper into the museum across the different areas. She had her guard up, as she knew very well that Shizuku wasn’t someone that she could trust so easily. If anything, the fact that Shizuku had remained so cooperative was something to be wary about even though it might also be normal for others to stick to safety once their very lives are in danger. It wasn’t unheard of for a captain to team up with pirates in order for everyone to survive a storm. 

They moved past the room with the images of a clear and safe planet earth and the rooms that had a lot of posters hanging around. Those were the rooms that Chika had previously visited; however, they didn’t have the leisure to take a look at them. Mari’s plasma attack was an extremely destructive power and there was no reason why she would have had to follow their path instead of destroying everything in her way in order to get to them. 

“Let’s go here!”

You was able to notice Shizuku trying to change tracks and run towards another door. She couldn’t let her do that. The captain reacted, taking a hold of her wrist and pulling her in a different direction. 

“That’s where the stage is, isn’t it? Are you planning to put all of that people in danger too?”

“But those people are-” No, no. She had to follow her role through; doing otherwise was unforgivable for someone who had dared to step on the stage. “You are right, let’s find another way!”

This led them into a really long corridor that connected with another stairway. Rushing down the stairs resulted in what looked like… outer space? This was a really unique room. Even though the place looked dark at first glance, it was illuminated by the stars and galaxies of outer spaces that were spread around the ceiling and the walls. More than likely this was because the ceiling and the walls themselves were all giant screens put together that simply showed this image, but anyone that stood there would have a hard time believing that even if they knew the logic behind it.

Moreover, the room was filled with what looked models of giant monsters like a giant menacing green dinosaur. There was also what looked like a hero of justice clad in a silver armor, almost the same size as the beast, all ready to fight it. And of course, there was a flying UFO hanging in the background behind them.

“What is this…?” You muttered under her breath. This was a world unlike any other, and yet, it was also a nostalgic world. It was like standing in the middle of a vast, unknown ocean. 

“Shh.” 

Shizuku put a finger in front of her lips and dragged You just behind a table. The table itself seemed to be an exhibition of sorts with lots of different weapons such as guns and light sabers. Of course, the guns themselves didn’t look like your regular guns at all, the models looked more like something out of a fantasy movie. 

“This is the sci-fi section, most of the displays here are in tribute of really big movies.” The red ribbon girl whispered out her explanation to You. “At any rate, it’s best if we stay silent and hide to throw off our pursuer.”

“Then we have to get going.” The captain shook her head and willingly walked out of their hiding spot. 

“Why? We should just stay here and h-”

“You are the one who ambushed us before, shouldn’t you know better than this?!” You slammed her hands into the counter, making some of the exhibit weapons fall down to the ground. “She could simply blast this wall away and that would be that, just because she can see us it doesn’t mean we are so easily safe!”

“Y-You are right, sorry…”

It was almost ironic. The girl who had put them in so much danger seemed to be growing increasingly nervous as this situation continued to go on. You couldn’t help but wonder if she didn’t have that much information about them in the first place. Of course, getting her to talk might not be all that easy right now, but paying close attention to her words and actions could result into something really beneficial in the long run.

“Hm? How cute, do you really think you can keep running away? Now that it’s come to this I should take care of you before leaving, should I just _end_ this already?”

Mari’s voice echoed across the empty walls. She spoke in a cheerful, sing-song voice but that alone was very terrifying. The voice wasn’t loud enough, but it was enough to tell them that she would be here in any moment now. 

“Come on, let’s get going!” 

The captain quickly stood up and ran across the emptiness of space until she reached a final door at the end of the room. This door was a lot larger and round compared to all of the previous doors, the problem however, was that the door was tightly locked shut. The original entrance to this room wasn’t an option either since Mari was on her way.

“Hurry, do something to open this!!” You gave Shizuku an intimidating glare, speaking out as if giving orders. 

“Eh? Why can’t you-?”

“I’m not able to use any kind of magic right now!! You have to open this or it’s all over for us!!”

Was this okay? It would be the second time she was forced to do this, if possible she wanted to avoid it altogether but…

“Fine then.” Shizuku took a deep breath. “A hero is always ready to save the day at the very last moment! I shall save you from this looming evil!” 

Clenching her fist, a spark of light blue color spun around her hand and with one single punch, the steel door was broken open with a loud noise, letting the two of them proceed. 

But then…

Shizuku could feel something forcefully pushing her forward into the next room before she could check on You. 

The scenario of outer space spread into the next room, but she was soon blinded by something. 

“Welcome! To the SHINY stage!!”

For just a moment, Shizuku was blinded by the brightest star there is. The sun. And in front of it, she could see the silhouette of a tall girl with a loop in her hair and a gun in her hand. Before the actress could try to retreat, a bright beam or purple color shot from Mari’s gun, creating another barrier that locked Shizuku inside this tiny, dome-like room with no way out. 

“Enough with your underhanded tactics, I will protect this girl from you, villain!” Embracing her role, Shizuku stepped forward, spreading her arm out in front of You. 

But Mari didn’t seem to mind. 

“Oh really?” The blonde laughed. “Big words for a thief! It’s time you stop pretending to be a hero of justice!! For I, the shiny detective, will bring this case to a close!!”

“E-Eh?!”

“So we were found out, huh?” You leaned her elbow on Shizuku’s shoulder and sighed. “It’s not use, partner, we are no match for this detective.”

“What are you talking about-?!”

“Hm? Didn’t you say so yourself?” Mari spoke towards Shizuku in a mocking tone. “That you would protect that girl? That means that she’s your ally, isn’t she? Don’t tell me you haven’t been paying _attention_ to the script!”

“?” 

Still unable to process what was happening, Shizuku slowly turned around, only to notice something in You’s hand. It was one of the space looking display guns from the previous room. If anything, she must have taken it the moment she slammed her hands against the display. Judging by the expression in You’s face, Shizuku could tell right away that You meant a lot more trouble that what she seemed like. But even if she understood that, she was unable to go back on her word, breaking character this far into the play was unforgivable. 

“So how about a _recap_ for the audience, huh?” Mari stepped closer, holding up three fingers. 

“Act 1: The thieves break into the museum and try to escape the shiny detective” She lowered her middle finger.

“Act 2: They steal one of the museum's precious artifacts.” She lowered her ring finger. 

“Act 3: They come to a dead end and get trapped by the hero.” She lowered her pinky. 

“You get it now, don’t you? We were never the heroes of justice; we were the villains trying to rob the museum all along!” You gave Shizuku a salute and Mari followed through with a wink. 

“And I’m the PROTAGONIST who is here to stop your evil schemes! Prepare yourself; it’s time for the shiny climax!!”

The young captain prepared herself; it was finally time to put the plan into motion, this was the moment of truth. Even If they had pushed Shizuku this far, there was still a final hurdle they had to overcome. The Chika doll in Shizuku’s hands was more than enough to remind her of that. Shizuku’s power to turn others into dolls was a strange power that they knew nothing about.

Or at least, it was something that they should have known nothing about. 

_“No matter what you do, just observe.”_

That had been Alisa’s final words before heading into combat. Of course, for most people even that wouldn’t have been enough to figure out anything. You herself had not been able to notice a single thing. But this was Mari we were talking about. The person capable to lead strong warriors even in the midst of the end of the world itself. The person who had grown up with Yukiho and Alisa, the imperial commanders. Even if all it took was for her to get one look, it was more than enough for her to understand the hint. 

Even though the final words that You had heard from Mari before this started was Mari calling her naïve, that itself had been part of the plan. Of course, before that, Mari had whispered all the details into her ear. Upon noticing Shizuku’s presence nearby, even in the midst of her very heart breaking down, Mari had managed to come up with a strategy to make up for everything and get them out of this.

The information that You had come to learn thanks to Mari had been the following: 

_“I need you to listen to me carefully. That girl’s ability, isn’t magic or alchemy. It follows specific rules. Back then, Alisa didn’t miss her attacks, she made them miss on purpose, she was taunting her. I believe the effect begins when she sets up the stage, making herself the hero. The crowd is part of her power too, they looked slightly translucent, they weren’t real people. But they were there to cheer for the hero. The hero never loses. But her power forbids her from attacking first. It’s a surefire counter. I’m sure there might be more she can do, but these are the rules for turning us into dolls.”_

Of course, that had only been Mari’s hypothesis. Of course, there were no absolutes. But if Shizuku’s ability truly relied on setting up a stage and giving everyone a role, reversing those roles would play a big part. With this, her ability to turn others into dolls would be sealed. It was truly their best chance if they were to get out of this situation and save everyone. 

“I see.” Shizuku whispered, ready to embrace her role and continue the story to the very end. “In that case, as the phantom thief, I shall break your justice and steal the treasure!”

It was perfect, whether it was for the rules of her own power or her own personal rules, she was following through. This was her chance, and so, the captain gave a single step forward.

“Sorry, but-” With a quick movement, she took grasp of Shizuku’s left arm, pulling her back and then lifting her up before fully hurling her against the floor at full force. “Now that we’ve come this far I don’t need you anymore! I’ll take the treasure for myself!!”

But You’s attack never connected till the very end. Just as Shizuku’s body flew across the air, she pulled her arm out, freeing herself from You’s attack. She spun in mid-air, letting her fist release a spark just like before, and sending a strong blow against the captain.

You’s first instinct was to spread her arms before her, releasing water magic as a shield, only to realize her magic was still sealed. Because of this, she had no choice but to take Shizuku’s attack using only her arms to protect herself.

“?!” 

But with that single strike, You was sent crashing into the wall with so much force that the screens showing the image of outer space cracked, making the shiny scenario fade away, and making part of the screens from above fall down and crumble all over the captain, burying her deep inside. 

Mari held her breath as cold sweat rolled down her forehead. She couldn’t run to aid You or show any concern because then she would be breaking character. If she broke character right here then Shizuku would be able to become the “hero” once again and get the ability to turn her into a doll in a heartbeat. The fact that she had used a different attack to deal with You was more than enough proof that she had lost the power to turn them into dolls in the first place. But… judging how big the scale of that attack was, things had become complicated. 

Even though she had seen Alisa take the attack before, all she had done was to make her stagger. On the other hand, _she made Alisa stagger._ That was no easy feat, a single hit from that could end everything for Mari as well. 

“Give it up you _filthy thief!_ It’s all over for you now!!” 

The commander, wouldn’t fall back however She launched herself forward while sinking her finger into the trigger, releasing a massive burst of violet plasma towards Shizuku at an immense speed. But the “villain” of this story didn’t run away or try to dodge, gathering sparks on her fists once again, she broke right through Mari’s attack, splitting it in half and making her blast crash against the walls at her side. 

The blonde commander gave a single step backwards; she knew her opponent was coming. Instead of trying to go in the offensive she shot a blast bellow her feet, making herself fly across the air and pulling out a second gun in mid-air. Of course, all it took Shizuku to give chase, even that high up, was to jump and shoot herself upwards. 

Pointing both guns at the red ribbon girl Mari released an even stronger blast that engulfed everything. 

But that wasn’t enough.

Her plasma shots were dispersed into a destructive frenzy all across the room as Shizuku broke through them, with no room to escape, Mari could feel the girl’s fingers wrapping around her own neck as she was sent crashing down into the solid ground. 

The brightness of the sun at their back faded away. 

The room had been shrouded in darkness as all of the screens had broken apart, turning the room into a mess of cables and shards of glass. 

Down on the floor, the blonde found herself unable to move. Shizuku’s fingers were sinking deeper and deeper into her neck. And then, she was able to see a pair of blue eyes glaring into her soul with unstoppable malice.

After all, there was a reason why Shizuku had to be the hero. 

There was no way for them to know, but forcing her into this role might have been a terrible mistake. 

“What’s the matter, hero?” Shizuku laughed. “Wasn’t justice supposed to always win?”

“This can’t be…” Mari coughed out, barely able to let out a word as all the air left her lungs. 

“What was that? I can’t hear you if you don’t speak properly! Hahaha, not like you will be able to again anyway! Finally, with this world shall fall into a new age of darkness!! Hahahahaha!!!”

As this happened, a figure crawled from under the rubble. The captain remained alive, but she had taken so much damage she wouldn’t be surprised if several of her bones had been broken after that. Her sight was extremely blurry, and everything was almost fading away but she could still see the scene of the villain ending the hero’s life before her. 

Would it all really end like this? 

Huh…? As she used every last ounce of strength to crawl across the floor, You’s fingers came in contact with something. It was one of the shining commander’s mythril guns. Could this be… her way out of this? But... wasn’t her magic supposed to be sealed? As much as she wanted to cling to the idea that there was a solution in her hands, it may have been naïve thinking. 

Even though this wasn’t the time for it, You couldn’t help by to think about something that had happened before. It wasn’t the same, yet, this situation was similar. She could clearly remember an image that was stuck in her mind ever since back then. She could remember the image of a young orange haired girl being crushed by a monster in the midst of a silent sea-side town. She could remember how at the moment, she was completely paralyzed in fear to be able to do anything at all. She remembered how her consciousness rapidly faded away, unable to do anything… but then… she remembered something new… a blue spark? Did… something else happen that day…?

No… more importantly… was she going to give up right now, just like this? Was there really no way out? Would she fail to protect someone’s life all over again? 

_“That girl’s ability isn’t magic or alchemy.” “This is how you do it! First you aim and then shinyyyy!!!”_

For some reason, Mari’s words from different occasions echoed in her head. If there was really something else out there, all that was left was for her to pray and let that greater force come to her aid.

Even if it was meaningless, she would always be the same if she didn’t take action now. She couldn’t accept that. 

Forcing herself to move her fingers, the captain took grasp of Mari’s gun and aimed at the villain who stood just a few meters away. 

The more she could hear Mari cough and gasp for air, the more a cold sensation enveloped all of You’s body, and the more adrenaline rushed to her head. A life was about to be lost in front of her very eyes, this wasn’t the time to be hesitating. 

And so, barely taking aim with her shaking hands the captain let out a yell and pulled on the trigger. 

What happened next, was not alchemy or magic, but something that went beyond that. 

A massive dragon made of pure pristine water emerged from the gun, flying across the air at an immense speed and spreading into a serpent of seven heads. They spiraled across the room, making wind and water fly in all directions. It was like standing in the midst of a massive hurricane. 

And then, the attack hit Shizuku with its full force blasting her right into the air. 

Even though the red ribbon girl was unable to understand what happened, there was only one way she could describe this as the story came to an end: “Splendid.” 

As You’s consciousness faded away, the last thing she was able to see was the figure of the orange haired girl and the imperial commander returning to normal. For the first time, she had finally felt like she had properly managed to save someone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your patience! It's only been a few days after the promised deadline, so looking at it this way, I'm slowly starting to close the gap between my delays! 
> 
> With this we've finally reached the end of the "Stage of Dreams" chapter. In actuality this chapter was originally supposed to be only two parts but then I realized it would have been too rushed, so I'm glad it came out this way instead. I feel like this chapter opens the door for many new theories and raises a lot of new questions, but fear not, everything will have an answer eventually of course!
> 
> If you haven't yet, I suggest you to check out the ["First Side-story"](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13839993) as it is canon to the main story and may give you a few more hints about what happened with You in this chapter. 
> 
> If you are interested in keeping good track of all the lore and little details of this story, I'll have a fun special announcement next week, so I hope you look forward to it!!
> 
>  
> 
> ☆☆☆☆☆
> 
> ☆ Check out the [Character Illustrations](https://twitter.com/YukiSetsuna/status/1001576688327778305) for the characters of my original story!
> 
> ☆ I'll be really grateful if you can please check out my original story: [Scarlet Finale!](https://www.honeyfeed.fm/chapters/2052) I will really appreciate it if you can make an account on that website (it's fast and easy!) and leave me any likes/comments over there, your support means a lot to me! Even simply clicking on the link above already helps me a lot! 
> 
> ☆ And if you want to keep track of me or just talk, I'm always on twitter [@YukiSetsuna](https://twitter.com/YukiSetsuna)


	58. Spirit of Snow - Part 1

After stepping outside the Imperial Palace while accompanied by her former enemies, her current situation is certainly not something Seira had ever anticipated. 

Her purple side tail wildly fluttered with the wind as she moved forward at an insane speed. It would be best to clarify that this speed however, wasn’t because of her running or using her own two legs. She was currently on top of what looked like a fancy motorcycle but she wasn’t the one in charge of driving, instead, Seira was holding for dear life with her arms tightly wrapped around the body of a certain blue ponytail girl. 

And of course, the reason she was on this vehicle to begin with was because they were being pursued. It wasn’t like Seira to let her guard down, but at this speed she didn’t have enough willpower to turn her head around and look at what was behind them, holding on to Kanan was already taxing enough. 

But on the other hand, the enemy wasn’t someone sneaky or difficult to notice. Even if Seira didn’t turn around, there was still something big enough to remind her of the pursuer’s presence. 

And the one who was coming for them at full speed was…

_☆_

Let’s backtrack a few hours ago. After reuniting with Yukiho, every group had gone their own separate ways.

According to their plan, the first group that would leave the Imperial Palace was the group with Yukiho herself. On top of the imperial commander, one of the villagers from Numazu and a mysterious girl who had been the cause for the world itself breaking apart were all coming along as well. 

Truth to be told, Seira felt anything but comfortable with this. Sure these may have been very reliable and strong comrades but they still had been enemies not until long ago. This didn’t mean that Seira couldn’t trust her but the fact that others might not be able to trust her to begin with heavily weighted down on the purple haired girl. 

After relying heavily on the use of Void Magic, it’s not like suddenly losing this kind of ability wasn’t affecting her either. The emotional impact behind realizing why she had this ability in the first place aside, it was like taking away a soldier’s best weapon which had helped them win several crucial fights in the battlefield. Then again, being a member of Saint Snow, a powerful duo who had worked hand in hand with the members of A-RISE, it’s not like Seira’s skill was anything to laugh at either. She had mastered the use of controlling lightning through her magic. 

For anyone who was knowledgeable on how magic worked, they would know there are four basic alignments for magic. Water, Wind, Fire and Earth. Those were the four base elements that composed all matter in the world, that’s why it was simple to call forth supernatural phenomena that used the main ingredients of the world itself. 

Of course, that was just the base for using magic. In truth, it was a lot more complex than this. If you were to take a piece of steel for example, you could say it had part of the earth element infused in it, but there was clearly a greater influence making it its own unique material rather than making it a piece of earth alone. Magic was the same, it could be developed in many different ways, and with a unique touch, you could get results like Lightning Magic, one of the most difficult forms of magic to manifest.

Her sister was far more knowledgeable about magic than her, so Ria would always praise her for this. But Seira never thought that this made her particularly special or anything like that. It’s something that she had learned to use in a whim without understanding the basics, similar to a self-taught artist who could make the biggest masterpieces but didn’t know what the exact techniques behind it were. Come to think of it, there was a chance that Mari’s Plasma Magic worked the same way; maybe if she can meet her again, she can try asking for more details to understand her powers better.

After explaining the plan, Yukiho gave everyone some time to prepare and meet at the designed points. Seira took preparation for combat really seriously, but this time there really wasn’t much for her to do.

The imperial garden was vast and colorful, it was easy for anyone else to get lost and their point of reunion didn’t particularly look like it was on any proper gate or exit to the garden. A good landmark in order to find their meeting location was a much taller tree with its leaves shining thanks to a distinct silver color. Or at least that’s what the biggest sign for the landmark had been. Once Seira arrived the silver tree was barely visible, what waited for instead was… bread.

Lots of bread. 

Just to clarify there were mountains over mountains of what looked like freshly baked bread. Of course its aroma was also spreading fast across the garden; it wasn’t something anyone could have ignored so easily. 

Seira stopped walking immediately. She didn’t know where to even begin. Why? What something like this doing here? After scanning the area she was able to identify the culprit quite fast but this didn’t help with her confusion in any way at all. 

There was someone sitting on top of the garden, right in the midst of all the bread. It had been the mysterious girl who was working with The Liberation, a quick glance at her blue uniform was enough for her to know as much. While it’s true that being a member of The Liberation was no small deal, this was also the girl who she had seen descending from the skies. In fact, from all three girls who descended this way, this was the one who stood out the most thanks to the angelic wings that were sprouting out of her back. Was that also some sort of advanced magic? 

So what was Seira’s evidence that this brunette had been the culprit behind this giant pile of bread? Simple, because this girl was devouring all the bread around her at inhuman speed. 

Despite being at a loss, the purple haired girl couldn’t just watch and stand by this. Be it her personality or her sisterly instincts kicking in, she found herself speaking her thoughts out loud in a heartbeat: 

“What are you doing?! You shouldn’t eat like that or you’ll get sick!!” 

“?” Hanamaru stared at the girl curiously and decided to respond, not before eating at least three more breads in one go. “Zura?”

A very fruitless reply at that.

“Z-Zura? Don’t give me that, what do you think you are doing? And where did you get all this bread from?! Wait… don’t tell me… you didn’t steal this, did you?!”

“Of course not!” Hanamaru stood up proudly. “I borrowed it!”

“Borrowed? You are aware that’s a very suspicious term, aren’t you? The tone of your voice doesn’t help either…”

“I-I totally did! That’s what Mari told me to say if anyone asks, zura!”

“….Right.” 

Mari? That was the leader of The Liberation, wasn’t it? Well, former leader if she were to take the previous events at face value. Either way, she didn’t know all that much about her but her little interactions with her were enough to tell Seira that she was probably just messing around.

“Don’t worry too much about it.” A new voice reached Seira’s ears. “Hanamaru needs to eat a lot to restore her energy, she’s an exceptional healer so this will help us more than anything.”

“I’m… not sure I follow the logic.” Seira gave the blue ponytail girl a response. Was she eating all that bread to replenish Legendary Power? Wasn’t that what the Sugar Cubes were for to begin with?

“It’s okay.” Kanan nodded. “I don’t get it either!”

“Then why are you supporting this?!”

“Hmm…” Kanan brought a hand to her chin and stared intently at Seira. She moved in closer, staring a little too close for comfort. “Don’t tell me, you are that kind of person who needs a perfect explanation for everything or otherwise won’t let it go no matter what.”

“?”

“Don’t get me wrong, it’s just that you being nitpicky about these things makes me feel like I’m dealing with Dia all over again.”

“T-That’s…” Seira’s tone of voice mellowed down. “It’s just that I thought it was unhealthy so…”

Despite being compared to the famous Gemstone Alchemist, Seira’s small action was enough to show Kanan just how different she actually was from Dia. Had the black haired girl been here, she would probably have responded with a really sudden and explosive reaction but Seira didn’t seem to be the kind to let herself get heated up to that extent. 

It was hard to believe this was also the very same person they had faced again in the depths of the forest, just to what extent had she been mind controlled by Erena before and what was the real personality behind this shy face? Had she become this passive after finding out she had been under someone’s control for so long, or is this just how she was always like?

Ironic enough, even if you were to ask her, Seira herself didn’t know the answer. Her original goal had been to save Tsubasa; that much had never changed. But she had faced these girls more than once in a very serious way, she had left them to die in a forest and put them through extreme situations. Even if she was fully convinced that was for the greater good at that moment, now it didn’t feel like it’s something she would have done. But that’s why it was scary. Because at the time she understood the logic behind it, at the time it felt like she was using her own free will. 

Seira stared at the paper seal on her hand. That was the magic seal given to her by Yukiho. Even if it went in front of their forehead at first, Yukiho changed it to the palms of their hands so enemies wouldn’t be aware of them. Right now, this seal was her only guarantee that she was free from those invisible chains. This small paper was the only proof she had that she was herself. Even if heading into battle without being able to use her magic was terrifying, she also found comfort in this. 

So now… how should she approach them? Despite the short interaction that she had with her just now, Kanan seemed to be dozing off into the distance. Seira didn’t know her too well but she had a pained expression in her face. It’s possible that the previous discussion that exploded between Mari and Dia was still affecting her. As for Hanamaru, she was also in her own little world while devouring as much bread as she could. It looked like the tower of bread had lowered in size by half or more; she couldn’t deny that it was impressive. 

The silence was killing her inside for some reason. It’s not like Seira wasn’t used to it. There was always a lot of silence between her and the members of A-RISE at time like this. There was a lot of silence with her sister too, but that was different, silence with Ria was comfortable. She was no professional in the battlefield like A-RISE but if she was going to head into the battlefield with someone else, having good communication with everyone involved sounded like a really good idea. Something that… didn’t seem like it was about to happen. 

Come to think of it…it had been bothering her for a while, but it was really sinking in how they might not trust her at all. Specially Kanan, she was one of the girls who she had fought head on before. Did she really trust her? What was her guarantee that they weren’t leading her on or making her let her guard down on purpose to deal with her later? Of course, Seira also knew there were flaws in this line of thinking. The threat of A-RISE getting their hands on the crown was still there. There were a lot of critical things taking place and they were going to need as much help as possible, throwing Seira under the bus or going this far just to deal with her would have been counterproductive. 

But just as she thought that she would be completely crushed apart by the pressure created by this silence, someone with the ability to break it in an instant had showed up. The last person who they were waiting for was finally here, Yukiho Kosaka, the imperial commander. 

There was a reason why Yukiho had been the last one to show up. She carried what looked like a massive suitcase along with her. It must have been very heavy as she was sliding it across the floor and holding it with both hands. Once she reached the meeting spot she hurled it into the group and stretched out her arms. 

“Alright, my preparations are ready!” The auburn haired commander nodded to herself.

Seira wondered if she was going to simply ignore all the piled up bread around them, then again, there was very little now compared to a few minutes ago. 

Looking at the suitcase however, Seira couldn’t help but wonder what was inside there. Carrying something that heavy into the battlefield looked like it would hold them back more than anything. Should she point this out? Should she say something? No, wait a moment. This person was the commander of the imperial guards, surely she wouldn’t make such a huge mistake, surely there was a reason she had brought this along with her. But what if… there wasn’t? Should she say something then? 

“Um, excuse me.” Ahh, why couldn’t she keep things to herself? This habit of speaking out her thoughts was something Seira wasn’t all comfortable with, but alas what is done is done. “Why did you bring this with you? Carrying something so big and heavy seems unnecessary to me. 

“Of course we aren’t taking this with us.” 

Of course, right? The purple haired girl now felt stupid for saying anything at all. She knew she should have just kept quiet, jumping to assumptions and overthinking things was never good. Maybe she just needed to calm down in general. Yukiho’s response was a very neutral response, but Seira still couldn’t help but feel like everyone would think less of her now even if there was no proper reason for her to explain why they would to begin with. 

“Since we don’t have an alchemist with us, it can’t be helped.” Yukiho knelt down and opened the suitcase. “I need you to put these on!!”

“…?”

What had come jumping out of the suitcase is something that defied all logic for Seira. For one, she couldn’t find any explanation on how all of this fit inside even with how big the suitcase was, this was ridiculous. And second, they were supposed to wear… this?!

“Do we really have to wear these?!” Kanan was surprisingly the first one to complain. “I feel like I will boil down out there.”

“T-That’s right.” Seira followed suit. “Why do we have to wear these huge costumes?”

“Hm?” Yukiho gave them a confused look. “The pikac-”

“Stop right there!!” Seira interrupted. “I don’t know why I have the feeling we are in for a big lawsuit if I let you continue!!”

“What are you talking about?” Yukiho crossed her arms. “Anyway, these are really popular with kids and adults alike right now, and there’s a lot of them going around in some places, they are perfect!!”

“I get that but… why these of all things?” 

“Think about it.” The auburn haired commander explained. “We are moving onward with a group consisting of an imperial commander, a member of Saint Snow, a member of The Liberation and a girl coming from the town that Tsubasa attacked. Even if we try to use other disguises, someone might recognize any of us. We might as well be walking forward with a huge sign asking our enemies to please attack us.” 

Seira sighed, she knew there was no way to refute this logic. 

“Sounds good to me, I think they are cute, zura!” The brunette finally stated her opinion as she reached for one of the costumes; there wasn’t a single bread in sight now.

“Are you sure you are okay?” Seira spoke to Hanamaru as she reached for one of the costumes herself. “I can’t imagine you feeling well after eating all that bread.”

“She’s okay.” Yukiho who overheard Seira’s concerned question decided to step in. “I don’t know the details myself but it seems like this girl replenishes a lot of energy this way. There is a chance this is something more than just Legendary Power, so I approved this. It’s good for us if she’s in her best condition.”

“That’s right, zura! And also…” Hanamaru’s voice slightly lowered. “The one who usually helps me with this is Ruby so… I have to focus so that I can help her too. I’ll complete this mission and come back to help Ruby!”

“Right, I see.” Seira was left without words. 

They were heading right into a battlefield, but this person wasn’t thinking about herself in the slightest. It was normal for anyone in this situation to think of their own safety and all the coming hardships but this response was enough to show Seira just how selfless Hanamaru was. Whatever her relationship with Ruby was like, it wouldn’t surprise Seira if it was just as strong as her own with her sister. Somehow, it made her a little envious. She couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to have friends that cared that much. 

A few minutes later, the four of them had put all of the costumes on; it was finally the time to start their mission, but-

“Wait, wait!” Seira realized one thing. “I have a question.”

“What is it?” Yukiho spoke from inside one of the cuddly electric yellow friends. 

“Aren’t you supposed to disguise yourself as the princess to work as a decoy? If you go inside this costume as well, wouldn’t that defeat the purpose of the plan?”

“It’s okay.” The commander reassured her immediately. “I am disguised as the princess but that is just part of plan B. There is a reason why we are leaving before the other two groups and why we are taking an straight forward road towards the Skytree.”

“A reason…?”

“You’ll see~” 

After this the purple haired girl was left with no choice but to follow Yukiho’s lead. 

 

The current Imperial Palace worked in a very curious way. While working with A-RISE, Seira was well aware that this is a location they were trying to get into but couldn’t locate properly. That would be confusing for anyone at first glance, the Imperial Palace was an important place for Japan’s history, even if it was hidden away with magic there was no way for them to not find its location easily. And the answer to that was simple, there were two Imperial Palaces. Of course, Seira didn’t know the exact way this worked, but it seemed like the place where they stood, the real one, was hiding away in something akin a pocket dimension. 

This is also why they didn’t need to head towards a gate or exit to get out of here, Yukiho simply had the means for them to walk into the city as though they were walking through walls. 

 

Just like that, Seira found herself outside the palace and was surrounded by a landscape of rising buildings all around her.

Their mission had started. 

The streets of Tokyo were just the usual landscape for Seira, but moving around like this was a much different experience. She was finally starting to understand why Kanan was complaining about the heat, she could already feel her skin burning inside the suit. For someone that grew up in a land of snow, this was quite the challenge. 

“I know we just stepped outside but even if we are wearing this, keep your guard up.” Yukiho’s voice spoke into Seira’s ear. 

The reason for this was because of tiny earpieces that Yukiho had handed them over along with the costumes. This way they could talk in a low voice and communicate without raising too much suspicion from the people in the street. 

“You say that but, if something happens how are going to fight like this? Our magic is sealed and I can barely move in these costumes.” Seira complained, having her physical abilities sealed was worrying her more than anything right now. 

“Magic isn’t everything.” Yukiho’s response was simple and yet confusing. “I chose the three of you to come with me for a reason. You can think of this as training.”

Training? Training for what? It was true that their physical abilities might strengthen after walking around with such heavy costumes but it wasn’t the kind of training where you could see results right away. Moreover, Yukiho’s initial response still confused Seira. What did she mean by saying magic wasn’t everything? Somehow it felt like there was a lot more meaning to that, but Seira didn’t want to ask for more details this time. She was scared of feeling stupid again and maybe there wasn’t anything deep to this.

“I’ll do my best to train then, zura-chu!!”

“Oh, you are getting in character, I like this.” Yukiho nodded to herself. (You could only see the costume from outside nodding slowly though.)

But come to think of it, wasn’t it strange? Yukiho had told them to keep their guard up. Usually it was something natural, but Seira didn’t feel like she had the need to bring that up just because they stepped into the city. 

The city… something was off. Seira was already used to walking around the streets of Tokyo. By the looks of it, it was still plain daylight. If she had to guess, it was close to the time a lot of people are going to work or on their lunch breaks so… why was this place so empty? Thanks to the overpopulation that was taking place in Tokyo, it was usually common for the streets to be flooded with people at a time like this. But right now, they were completely empty. 

No, it was more than just the streets. All the buildings around them seemed to be lacking activity as well. Even as they walked past food stands or clothing shops with fancy displays, they all seemed to be closed. Seira was starting to think it was just her imagination but the vending machine close to the intersection seemed to be off as well. It was almost like walking around in the middle of a blackout. Seira couldn’t ignore a strange eerie sensation no matter how much she tried. It was like being scared of a ghost or something you couldn’t see, but that’s also why it felt like an irrational fear, she had no way to explain why she felt this way. 

Crossing the street was easy despite the traffic lights not working properly as there were no vehicles running either. Silence engulfed them as they walked across the desolate city shrouded by different hues of gray and white. 

And then, that silence was abruptly broken. 

“Looks like we’ll have to move to plan B.” Yukiho’s voice spoke once again in a deep and serious tone. “If it comes down to it, feel free to discard these costumes.”

“Plan B? Already?” Seira questioned her. If she was changing plans this early it was likely that it wasn’t Seira’s imagination, there might have been something off for sure. 

“As I said.” Yukiho explained herself. “There is a reason why we are the first group to move ahead. I was expecting this would happen but it seems they moved faster than I thought, maybe a little too fast.”

“What reasons are you talking about? To work as a decoy?”

“To clear the way.”

“To clear it from enemies…?”

“You worked with A-RISE, didn’t you?” Yukiho suddenly stopped walking. “If so you would know what the city thinks of them. They are heroes. Yes, we are a decoy. But more than anything, we are here to clear the way for the others to proceed safely. After all, if the heroes are in trouble, it’s just a given this would happen.”

There was a reason why Yukiho had stopped walking. And there was a reason why she was so intent in clearing the way. 

This reason became apparent in just an instant. 

Police sirens started to resound in the distance, judging by the sound, they were getting closer and closer. Immediately after, what looked like at least a hundred armed police forces all jumped out of the empty buildings or walked out of different corners, surrounding the group with their firearms all pointed at them from different directions.

“Well then, remember when I told you that this was training?” Yukiho took a deep breath. The costume was shredded to pieces, revealing a girl that looked just like the Princess. Dust and wind spiraled around her thanks to a great and strange energy that pulsated and ran in a swirling motion. “How about I give you a little demonstration? Time to put plan B in motion!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for being patient with me! My overall health isn't doing so well so I couldn't bring this update as fast as I would have wanted to. But that aside, we finally start a brand new chapter, I hope you look forward to seeing how this unfolds! 
> 
> ☆☆☆☆☆
> 
> ☆ Check out the [Character Illustrations](https://twitter.com/YukiSetsuna/status/1001576688327778305) for the characters of my original story!
> 
> ☆ I'll be really grateful if you can please check out my original story: [Scarlet Finale!](https://www.honeyfeed.fm/chapters/2052) I will really appreciate it if you can make an account on that website (it's fast and easy!) and leave me any likes/comments over there, your support means a lot to me! Even simply clicking on the link above already helps me a lot! 
> 
> ☆ And if you want to keep track of me or just talk, I'm always on twitter [@YukiSetsuna](https://twitter.com/YukiSetsuna)
> 
>  
> 
> **(It's a bit sad that it's come to this. I have my reasons for making this statement and I do trust all of you guys. But I need to state the general disclaimer that if you are homophobic, transphobic, racist, etc. Please don't interact with me. I don't care what your excuses are, just don't. Any comments trying to argue or going against this will also be ignored and deleted.)**


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